A Moment That Changes A Life When…
by BackslashEcho
Summary: A collection of RWBY one-shots. Disconnected unless stated otherwise. Not necessarily shippy. Not AU unless stated. Contains headcanons, Tumblr ship requests, and my contributions to past RWBY Relationship Weeks.
1. Loveless

Loveless

**Summary**: Ren wonders if he'll never fall in love. Velvet explains what it means to be aromantic.

* * *

"It's perfectly normal," said a soft voice.

Lie Ren jumped, startled, and quickly shut off his Scroll's display, using the now-dark screen to identify who, behind him, had spoken. Their features were indistinct, but the silhouette of tall, narrow rabbit's ears gave it away—Velvet Scarlatina, an upperclassman and part of the powerful and well-liked Team CFVY.

"I'm sorry?" Ren asked politely. Velvet was only an acquaintance, but he had noticed she often had trouble talking to people.

Velvet looked nervous, at least as much as he could see of her shadowed reflection. It was difficult to tell, but he thought she was biting her lip.

"Would you like to sit down?" he added, when Velvet continued to hesitate. He shifted his bag off the chair beside him, pushing aside the textbooks he had set out but not opened. Dust, this was nothing like dealing with Nora. But then, it was because of Nora that he was sitting here looking up…

Velvet perched awkwardly on the seat beside him, not quite meeting Ren's eye. Well, he had no plans to force her to. He turned the Scroll back on, and the article title that Velvet had obviously read over his shoulder filled the screen once more: _PEOPLE WHO CANNOT LOVE_.

"This is…normal?" Ren prompted her gently, trying not to sound as nervous as she looked.

Velvet nodded, her faunus ears swaying a little. "It's called being aromantic. Coco is as well, you know."

Ren didn't reply but he supposed his raised brow spoke for itself.

"Look," she said hesitantly. "It's…" she trailed off, then tried again. "I don't intend to pry, but… If this wasn't something personal, you wouldn't have jumped when I said something."

Ren acknowledged that with a bow of the head.

"Which means it _is_ personal. Which is the only reason I said anything." She bit her lip again. "I remember how upset Coco was."

Ren tilted his head, indicating his interest. A part of him was also aware of a tiny smile playing about his mouth—it was exceedingly plain that Velvet was not used to being the more talkative end of a conversation.

Fortunately, his expression seemed to reassure Velvet somewhat. She glanced around nervously, but there was no one nearby. When she continued, she seemed less timorous than before. "It was last year. The boy she was dating at the time told her that he was in love with her. Which isn't so odd at that age for Hunters as it might be for civilians but…"

Ren nodded. Hunters tended to live fast, and despite the Academies' best attempts, even in peacetime it was a job with a high mortality rate. Middle-aged Huntsmen like Professor Port were a distinct rarity, which lent weight to the man's words despite his rambling lectures.

"Naturally, he wanted to hear that she felt the same way," Velvet continued. "She was happy with him—this was when I arrived," she interrupted herself, her cheeks pinking a little. "And I couldn't help overhearing. Coco told me later that it was okay. She told the rest of the team about it that night anyway. In any case, she knew she was happy, but she asked him to explain exactly _how_ he was feeling, prodding him into describing all the emotions and subtleties that went into his romantic feelings. And then she had to honestly tell him that she didn't feel the same."

Ren bit his own lip now. That…didn't sound like it would turn out well.

Sure enough, Velvet continued. "His shouting brought people running. Coco never said anything back—she said later it was out of affection that she absolutely _did_ feel toward him—but everyone always said she just seemed dreadfully cold."

So that was where the nickname Frappé had come from, Ren realized. An iced cocoa. Dimly, Ren also thought that this was the most he had ever heard Velvet speak at once.

"Thats why I said it's normal," the Faunus girl finished, still slightly pink in the face. "I saw the title of that article—" she nodded at his Scroll "—It's inaccurate and unfair. That's the only reason I said anything at all. Coco didn't handle explaining it very well, but I could tell how relieved she was to be able to put a name to it. She said it was an amazing change not to feel robotic, or monstrous, or broken." Her mouth twisted. "All things that he called her that night, incidentally."

Broken… Ren had never felt broken, exactly; it was more like romance just never registered for him. If he ever thought about it, he had just assumed that eventually he would find someone, like in a story. He knew that a lot of people thought he and Nora were involved on some level, but he had never felt anything like romance as it was described. She was his best friend, his equal, his other half, his foil, his soul mate in a completely platonic sense. If pressed, he wouldn't hesitate to explain that he loved her…just not like _that_. There were times, though, that he wondered if perhaps her babbling dismissal of the possibility of seeing them as "together-together" might not be a hint. Or worse, her trying to draw out his opinion on the matter. Or, worse still, her trying halfheartedly to convince herself otherwise. Times like that were what drove him to seek real solitude, even from her. Times like that were what led to him sitting in the library with his Scroll open to an article about lovelessness…

Abruptly, Ren realized he had been lost in thought for some time, and had let the conversation drop. With Nora he would never have noticed, because she would fill the silence automatically. The timid Velvet, on the other hand, was just watching him, a small smile warring with apprehension on her face. Hurriedly, he made an effort to actually speak.

"I…" What was there to say? Ren closed the article, then put his Scroll away entirely. "Thank you," he said instead, inclining his head to the the shy upperclassman. "I sincerely appreciate you taking the time to speak with me. And…I think there's someone else I need to discuss this with."

Velvet gave him a real smile, eyes and nose crinkling and scrunching. Distractedly, as he packed his untouched books into his bag, he noticed how much the smile enhanced her leporine resemblance. It was distinctly adorable.

Picking up his bag, Ren gave Velvet a short bow in thanks. "I am in your debt," he said solemnly, which only made her smile widen.

"Just be yourself," she murmured as he passed. Then, when he was almost out of earshot, he heard her add in a low but cheerful voice, "Good luck."

Somehow, though, Ren knew it would work out. He and Nora always managed to understand each other.

* * *

**A/N**: So. This _might_ be a tiny bit autobiographical. Honestly, I read Ren as being a lot like myself (yes, I'm aro af), and Nora is the kind of character who I should really hate, but I just can't. I love both of them and they love each other and their relationship is perfect without even trying to be romantic.

There aren't words to explain just how much of a NOTP Renora is for me. They're like siblings. Closer, even. Like Mal and Zoe from _Firefly_ (or perhaps more appropriately considering their personalities, like Mal and Kaylee), or Lelouch and C.C. in _Code Geass_, or Captain America and Black Widow in the _MCU_.  
The fact that the song "Boop" from the Volume 2 OST (otherwise an excellent song, I confess) seems to indicate that Renora is supposed to be canon distresses me in a way I can barely describe. I guess that's what headcanons are for.

"Leporine" means "of or resembling a hare", obviously. I confess I had to look it up, not because I didn't know what it meant, but because I _knew_ there had to be a word for it, (likely ending in -ine), but couldn't figure out what it should be.


	2. Not Always Black and White

Not Always Black and White

**Summary**: Technically a two-shot. The first is set approximately after _The Badge And The Burden_, in which Blake decides to be fairer to Weiss. The second is set after _Black and White_, in which the two of them elaborate on an inconsistency. Could be read as Monochrome, I guess?

* * *

"Weiss…I owe you an apology."

Weiss Schnee, currently lying on her back in bed studying, looked up, perplexed. Blake Belladonna's slanted, amber-yellow eyes stared back steadily. When her roommate didn't appear inclined to continue without prompting, Weiss cocked an eyebrow.

"For the things that I said the day we…met," Blake clarified. After a moment's silence, she sighed and asked, rhetorically, "You're not going to make this easy, are you?"

Weiss merely looked on, eyebrow raised, face impassive, wondering where Blake was going with this, and why she had waited until they were alone if she was going to offer a token apology.

Blake tugged at her earlobe, then folded her arms defensively. "It was…unfair in the extreme for me to lay my grievances with your father's company at your feet."

Weiss blinked.

"So…I'm sorry."

The awkwardness mounted as the silence spiraled, but neither of them broke eye contact. Blake didn't seem to be so much as blinking, her golden gaze unbroken. At last, Weiss took a breath, and Blake nearly flinched.

"I accept," Weiss said, with a sniff. "I would request that you do not make assumptions about people you don't know, until you've walked a mile in their shoes."

Blake flushed, bristling. "Your terms are fair," she all but spat. "I suggest you abide by them as well, _Princess_." She whirled on her heel and stalked away.

Weiss sat up abruptly. "Blake."

The other girl deigned to pause with her hand on the doorknob. She did not turn around.

Weiss brushed a finger over the scar across her left eye. "I'm seventeen," she said bluntly. "Like you heard me tell my partner, I'm _not_ perfect. There's a lot I don't know, and probably a lot more that I take for granted."

Blake was bristling, but she still said nothing, continuing to face the door.

"I'm not stupid, Blake," Weiss continued, and the other girl stiffened. But still, Blake's apology had turned out _not_ to be token, so Weiss could do no less and still claim to have honor. "The Schnee Dust Company is anything but transparent, even to someone close to it. Believe it or not, it's something that I've wondered about in the past. Once, I even brought it up. My father's views and mine…disagreed." Her hand clenched in the blanket, but Blake still wasn't looking at her.

"And unlike our teammates, I am not incapable of taking a hint," Weiss finished doggedly, struggling to maintain her usual detachment and dignity. "So. I, too, apologize for my careless and unfair words."

Blake turned the knob and opened the door at last. She stepped into the hallway, then half-turned back. She didn't look fully around, but said over her shoulder, "Okay."

Somehow, it was enough.

* * *

After the attempted robbery at the docks, Yang and Ruby had run off looking for Penny, who had undeniably saved their skins before suddenly disappearing. Sun had made an excuse and vanished, probably off to go steal something el—no. Even if it was probably objectively true, that wasn't the way to look at it. He wasn't a criminal like that Torchwick; she had no evidence, even from what Blake had told her of their days alone, of him stealing anything but a boat ride and food. Poverty was far from eliminated in Remnant, and not every child had the resources of the Schnee Dust Company around them growing up…

Weiss' fists clenched unconsciously. Like _that_ wasn't a sick joke all its own.

Bow twitching, Blake glanced back at her, yellow eyes seeming to shine in the dim twilight. "Weiss…there's still something that's bothering me."

Weiss blinked. "What?"

It was less a prompt to continue and more a sign that Weiss hadn't been paying attention at all, but Blake took it as the former. Her bow still quivering, she pressed. "There was something about…our argument…that didn't make sense to me."

"Yes…?" Weiss said cautiously, not wanting to start another fight when the last one had just ended.

"You told us that the Company had been targeted by violence your whole life," Blake began in a low voice.

"Longer," Weiss interrupted. "For once, this is a subject I've had a look at some of Father's records. There have been disappearances going back almost three decades."

"Weiss…" Blake said softly, pausing with her eyes shut. "The White Fang's emblem changed to reflect their more radical stance…five years ago." Weiss stopped walking, too. "That was when I started to ask questions. To get disenchanted. In the end, it was why I left."

Weiss turned around and walked back to her teammate, stopping directly in front of her. Blake bristled, apparently at her sudden closeness, as golden-yellow eyes slid to meet ice-blue.

"Are you…certain of this?" Weiss said, quietly, coldly; unconsciously drawing on the freezing aloofness that she had cultivated around her father growing up.

Blake's bow was folded back, and dimly Weiss realized her feline ears must be pressed flat to her head, but she seemed to be making herself reply just as coolly, refusing to back down. "I was with the White Fang for nearly as long as you have been with the Schnee Dust Company, Weiss. I'm certain."

Weiss stepped back, not having heard that Blake had been born to her lot in life almost as much as Weiss herself had been born to her own. Idly, she noticed that some of the tension was leaving Blake's form once more.

"You're…as uncomfortable with closeness as I am," Weiss whispered.

Blake's bow, just starting to rise back to its usual position, flattened again immediately. This time, she did take a step back. "W-what?" she gasped. Weiss couldn't quite deny that she rather enjoyed cracking the other girl's composure. Still, there were limits to both decency and dignity, even given their…acerbic friendship. Besides, as she had just almost-inadvertently revealed, it wouldn't be just Blake who was uncomfortable.

Weiss herself took another step back, folding her arms and looking away, cursing her pale complexion as she felt heat in her cheeks. She might have been able to hide it in the Winter with her other teammates, but it was a warm night, and Faunus could see in the dark…

Blake, for her part, took a step closer, and it was Weiss' turn to flinch. Blake stopped. "I don't think it's the same," the feline girl said, softly. "For me, it's…a dislike of things I can't see. An extension of my difficulties trusting people."

'Difficulties' was putting it lightly, Weiss thought sourly, when she was happier to run away from her teammates in a crisis. Then the rest of what Blake had implied sank in. She already knew.

Weiss turned back, face questioning. Blake hadn't moved, but she had to be sure. "You knew…?"

Blake tilted her head, bow quivering once more. "That you don't like to be touched? Obviously. I don't, do I?"

Weiss thought, but even when Ruby and Yang were being obnoxiously clingy—_Dolts_, Weiss thought fondly—Blake had always hung back. She had put it down to the other girl's reserve, but… "You don't flinch, do you, when Yang grabs you?" she asked Blake, unable to hide the slightest tremor in her voice.

Blake shrugged, apparently self-consciously. "I can always hear them coming. Ruby isn't very stealthy, and Yang isn't exactly light on her feet."

Weiss' lips twitched in spite of herself. Rather than continue that line of conversation, she took several deep breaths to calm herself, and said, "We should catch up with them. That…inconsistency you noticed…"

Before she could get any further, Ruby's red locks appeared around the corner of the building in front of them. "There you guys are!" she cried, dashing toward them, fortunately forgoing her Semblance.

Weiss braced herself for the hug that was surely coming, muscles tense and eyes half-shut, but the impact never came. Instead, Blake stepped calmly past her and intercepted their enthusiastic leader, turning on the spot to dispel the younger girl's momentum. As she spun, her eyes met Weiss'.

She had done it on purpose. Weiss felt her lips trembling as she mouthed, _Thank you_. Blake just nodded, and began leading Ruby by the hand back toward Beacon as Yang rounded the same corner her sister had appeared from.

* * *

**A/N**: For the first part…honestly, I'm kind of upset that we never got this scene in canon. Or even the slightest hint that it might have happened offscreen. They're standoffish, but neither of them is _that_ unreasonable.

It probably feels like there's no payoff to the second part, but there isn't really meant to be. The inconsistency is something that I noticed, but which didn't have attention drawn to it in canon. Personally, I expect canon to follow up on it eventually, so I don't want to start drawing wild conclusions that are just going to get Jossed (TVTropes definition: "When a fan theory is disproved by later canon").

As for the rest of it…it's more of my headcanon, I guess.  
Growing up outside the kingdoms, in the wilderness where Grimm stalk day and night, in a world that hates what she is, I read Blake as being quite fairly and legitimately paranoid. She's able to function well in spite of it, but there's always that sensation, like a prickling on the backs of one's eyeballs, that _someone could be watching_, that _she could be missing something_. She's constantly very aware of her surroundings and a light sleeper, and sneaking up on her can elicit a panic reaction before she realizes that she's not in danger.  
Weiss, meanwhile, grew up in an environment not fraught with danger but cold and distant and full of the sort of obligations that a child just doesn't understand. In her own words, it was "very difficult" to grow up with, and that's not just to do with the family being targeted by extremists. Think of her face when she has to call home from the CCT. This is not a girl who has a good relationship with her family. Consequently, I read Weiss as being quite touch-defensive. She doesn't react well to being suddenly hugged or grabbed, and while she is able to deal with it if she knows and accepts that contact is incoming, she's still not comfortable with it.

But that's just my thoughts.


	3. Boop

Boop

**Summary**: Sequel to Loveless. Ren and Nora discuss love. Platonic Team Sloth. Contains background Arkos.

* * *

Ren poked his head into Team JNPR's dorm room, but found no sign of his quarry. "Heard any sloths around here?"

Jaune Arc jumped, the most recent _X-Ray and Vav_ comic dropping from nerveless fingers, apparently not having sensed Ren's approach or even heard the door opening. Odd for a Huntsman-in-Training, but not unexpected for his team leader. Pyrrha Nikos, Jaune's partner and their team's ace, looked up calmly from where she sat beside him, studying a tome on Aura theory.

Ren wondered, not for the first time, just how oblivious Jaune was. Pyrrha seemed to be everything the bumbling blond wasn't—graceful, clever, skilled, talented; also, Ren found it in himself to admit, she _was_ quite good-looking. She was also plainly head-over-heels for the boy, and while Ren couldn't quite understand why, he was also coming to accept that he didn't quite understand romance at all.

Pyrrha shook her head. "Try the courtyard," she said, sounding amused. Ren nodded, and withdrew his head, hearing as he did so, Pyrrha drawing Jaune's attention to some detail in the textbook.

Ren shook his head, amused. Pyrrha had been the one to personally unlock Jaune's aura for the first time. She was tutoring him in swordplay, going out of her way to teach him all the things he was supposed to already know. (Jaune had confessed to faking his transcripts after the incident in the Forest of Forever Fall—well, he had confessed to his own team, at least. Ren wasn't sure if Team RWBY had been informed, yet. Or if they would be.) She was the first to leap to his defense when Winchester started in on him, or to comfort him afterward. She studied with him, coached him, and did her best to inspire him. Even now, she was doing research that was plainly for his benefit, as she sat beside him on the bed to study, their shoulders rubbing comfortably. Bizarrely, in Ren's opinion, she even gave Jaune some occasional romantic advice, watching him chase his own tail when it came to the blonde's unrequited crush on Weiss Schnee, incomprehensible as _that_, too, was to Ren.

Lost in thought, Ren blinked and found that he was already in the nearby courtyard that Pyrrha had recommended. Nora, sure enough, was "studying" in the shade of a tree…meaning that her books lay abandoned as she practiced balancing her weapon, Magnhild, on the tip of her nose, arms flailing for balance as she wriggled, trying to keep the massive hammer centered above her.

Ren felt a faint smile tugging at his lips. Nora always seemed to bring one out. She was facing away from him, and was progressively losing her balance as Ren crossed the grass toward her. In the end, Magnhild itself—himself, Nora would have insisted—overbalanced just as Ren reached Nora. He wasted no time in catching her bridal style and shifting so that the hammer's head impacted the ground beside them, rather than her face or his foot.

"Ren!" she exclaimed, promptly hugging him around the neck. He let her legs drop, but Nora did not release him, forcing him to bend at the waist as she dragged him down eight inches or so to her own height.

"Hello, Nora." Some people might have wondered how two such different people could be such close friends, but Ren rather thought that those questions somewhat missed the point. The vivacious redhead was his constant counterpoint, and he hers.

"Where've you been all day? I haven't seen you since breakfast and you left all sudden-like!" Nora exclaimed. She left out how plainly he had wanted to be alone—not that he had needed to explain such to her, after all these years—or how she had plainly not been searching for him, trusting him to pop back up when he was ready. Ren found himself smiling fondly again as Nora pulled him all the way down to the ground, his head resting in her lap as she sat back against the tree, jabbering away about all the nothing that had happened while they were apart.

"I was in the library," he supplied, when Nora took a breath. "I met Velvet. Interesting discussion." His characteristic summary done, he glanced up. Magenta eyes met sparkling turquoise as she looked back at him.  
"Do you think she was named Velvet 'cause of how soft her ears are?" Nora wondered aloud.

"Perhaps, but that's not what we talked about," Ren chuckled.

"Then what _did_ you talk about?" Nora asked, head tilted as though she couldn't conceive any other possible topic the two of them could have covered.

Ren glanced across the courtyard. "We talked about romance, actually." Nora went very still for a moment. "About how it is possible not to experience romantic feelings at all."

"Oh, Ren," Nora sighed. He looked up at her again, only to get poked in the nose for his trouble. "Boop."

He squinted up at her, but she was looking off into the middle-distance. "Who does Velvet know that's like you? It's not herself," she added with certainty. Ren blinked. Nora had certainly jumped quickly, if correctly, to the conclusion that Ren was talking about himself.

"Coco Adel," he answered. "Hence the Iced Cocoa jokes you hear sometimes." Nora nodded, eyes still unfocused. "She indicated that it is uncommon, but not abnormal."

"You thought you were broken, didn't you?" Nora said, accusingly, chin dropping to glare at Ren. "You thought maybe there was something wrong with you."

"How could I not?" Ren muttered, not meeting her eye. "We've been friends for a decade. Everyone we knew at combat school either expected us to get together or thought we already were. Plenty of people here think the same; even our teammates. Every story and account I've heard has indicated that some sort of attraction should be at least _expected_." Finally, he glanced sideways up at her. She was staring at him, mouth a little open. "There's also an annoyingly persistent rumor that 'boop' secretly means 'I love you'."

Nora began to giggle uncontrollably, leaning back against the tree at last. Finally, with a rather undignified snort, she stopped. "Of _course_ it does."

Ren stiffened in shock. "What?"

Nora looked down at him again, a hint of mischief in her eyes. "I didn't make a secret that I'd considered what it would be like, if we were together. I mean, '_together_-together'. But I'm not about to drive away my best friend by expecting something you can't give me. If people think that 'boop' means 'I love you', they're not wrong, they're just not entirely _right_. You're not the only one I boop, and there's a reason."

Ren just blinked at her again. Nora was being…remarkably coherent today.

"You'll always get boops, 'cause you're my best friend," Nora went on, still giggling, and poking his nose again to make her point. "Other people will get them too, sometimes. I love you _and everyone_! And that's okay too." She narrowed her eyes, though to Ren's familiar gaze, he thought she still looked mischievous. "Or do you think there's something _wrong_ with me because of that?"

Refusing to get worked up, Ren just shook his head. Nora began playing idly with his hair, isolating the pink strand that she had bleached and dyed one day to match his eyes.

"There's more to love than romance, Ren," she said, solemn for once.

Ren nodded this time.

"Lots of people place romance on a pedestal. They tend to—" Nora grinned "—_romanticize_ the ideal of romantic love. But it's not everything."

Another nod.

"It's not even anything special. It's just a form of love. There are lots." She ruffled his hair, then poked his nose yet again. "Boop. Case in point."

Ren considered that for a long while. Nora was not aromantic, that much was clear. But she seemed to accept that he was, and was quick to remind him that there was still love to be found. Funny, how someone that most people saw as such a scatterbrain could hone right in on exactly what was bothering him and lay his concerns to rest without him ever bringing them up. Some called her shallow, but nobody else had ever taken the time to get to know her properly. The rest of Team JNPR and their sister squad Team RWBY were on their way, but Ren had a feeling that nobody would ever take his place. That was just as well. They were partners, after all.

"Nora," Ren said softly. Nora paused mid-word and glanced down at him, only to recoil in surprise when he gently poked her nose. "Boop," he said.

Nora's smile could have blinded the sun.

* * *

**A/N**: Ren's perspective, once again, is basically just mine.

Ren appears to be an unashamed Arkos fan himself, though as with most things about him, it's pretty understated. Nora is not nearly so restrained, being more of a shipper on deck, actively nudging the two toward each other—or rather, nudging Jaune toward Pyrrha and encouraging Pyrrha to step up.

This was unplanned, but it felt like a natural extension to Loveless. Which was not meant to be a "perfect" title, by the way. Obviously Ren is _not_ loveless, as Nora points out. He just needed her to help him realize it; she's a counterweight that helps him stop overthinking things, just like he helps her from going overboard in her excesses and burning out. I don't see Ren and Nora in a romantic relationship (ever), but there _is_ still love there. They are partners. Forever.


	4. The Queen's Plan

**A/N**: Created 29 March 2015. It's RWBY Relationship Week on Tumblr; the challenge is to take two randomly-selected characters and explore their relationship, whether that be romantic, platonic, parental, mentor-apprentice, sibling, antagonistic, or what-have-you.

_Sunday's Randomly-Generated Names_: Cinder Fall, Cardin Winchester

* * *

The Queen's Plan

**Summary**: Cardin eavesdrops on Cinder and gets a scare.

* * *

Bruised and battered, Cardin Winchester left the locker room grinding his teeth and grumbling about smug, know-it-all redheads. He pushed past Sky, who was complaining loudly, and Dove, who was going on about synergy and tactics and all sorts of other nonsense that Cardin couldn't care less about. He entered the main hallway at the same time class let out, in time to follow two of those Mistral exchange students—green hair and silver hair—out of the coliseum for the cafeteria. The silver-haired one was chuckling about 'the joys of learning', which it seemed only served to annoy his partner. Outside, the monkey filth asked Belladonna to the dance, but she turned him down; surprising, given her usual _animal_-loving attitude.

It appeared the two in front of him were also ready to eat, for Cardin found himself at the table beside theirs when the rest of CRDL caught up with him. Sky took his usual seat across from Cardin, while Russel sat beside him. Cardin found himself ignoring Russel's and Sky's ongoing byplay in favor of watching the green-haired girl's expressions. She looked a good bit like the girl Cardin himself was taking to the dance. What was her name? Whatever, he had time. And if his date turned out to be uptight, maybe he could dance with _this_ chick, he thought. She was quite good-looking; lovely russet-dark complexion and innocent-seeming red eyes… Though, at the moment, she looked ready to bite her partner's head off, a sure sign in Cardin's mind that she could be a real spitfire. Hot.

The partner in question certainly liked the sound of his own voice, and her expression grew stonier and stonier. Finally, she slammed down a fistful of lien between them and barked, "Mercury, my offer is still on the table! Five minutes!"

Cardin wasn't sure what that meant, but the guy—Mercury, apparently—just laughed. "Still no deal."

The girl appeared ready to storm away from the table, when a cool, commanding voice said, "Stay, Emerald."

Emerald—of _course_ it would be 'Emerald'—froze, and sat back down a little stiffly. As she turned to greet the speaker, though, she showed no hint of her previous annoyance. "What's on your mind, Ella?"

'Ella' sat imperiously beside Emerald, effortlessly commanding attention even from the apparently languorous Mercury. Cardin even found himself unconsciously leaning somewhat closer, and quickly made himself sit up straight and stop eavesdropping. Well, he tried to stop, at least. Emerald's hair blocked Cardin's view of Ella's mouth, and she spoke quietly enough that her voice didn't carry, but he still found himself watching her. She had long black hair and interestingly-colored eyes—some dark shade of amber, perhaps? She was obviously the team leader. Perhaps they were discussing Mercury's short spar with Nikos? Cardin's lip curled at the thought of Pyrrha Nikos, but at least he had _fought_! It wasn't like it was his fault his team had decided to be a bunch of dead weight and get in his way, and hell, this silver-haired sissy had _surrendered_! …Was it just him, or did Ella seem more than a couple years older than her teammates?

Reining in his wandering thoughts, Cardin blinked, and realized that he had been staring. Worse, Ella was staring back. Cardin flinched, and was trying to decide how to play off that he had simply been staring into space, when Ella's eyes flashed—more, they _glowed_. It was like Red Dust gone rampant, like hellfire, and every instinct in Cardin's body was screaming to _get __**away**__ from this woman_!

Cardin tumbled off his seat, his armour clanking loudly. He scrambled to his feet, ignoring his team's concerns, not even caring that people were staring. He scrabbled up his gear and garbage, dumped the latter in the trash can, and left the cafeteria as quickly as his wounded dignity would allow. He was certain he could hear the three strangers' laughter distinctly through the chuckles ringing behind him. As the door swung shut, though, he shivered. Whoever that Ella chick was, she was trouble, and Cardin would be staying the hell out of her way.

* * *

**A/N**: 'The King's Plan' is the name of a score from _Cinderella_.

What the hell kind of combination is this supposed to be ›_› *grumble grumble* Do they even have a ship name? Pretty sure they don't. I'm naming this ship Pyrolatry. (It refers to the worship or deification of fire.)

I'm like 90% sure, based on _Dance Dance Infiltration_, that the dark-complected girl in the blue-white-blue gradient gown was Cardin's date. You can see them together (smiling) when Jaune presents himself to Pyrrha in his dress (they are to Pyrrha's right; the left side of the shot during her reactions). So I wrote Cardin as having a thing for dark-skinned girls. *shrugs* Emerald's hot.

If it's not clear, 'Ella' here is Cinder. I just don't see someone who is apparently that big of a deal in the underworld using their own name on an infiltration.


	5. Devils Unaware

**A/N**: Created 30 March 2015. It's RWBY Relationship Week on Tumblr; the challenge is to take two randomly-selected characters and explore their relationship, whether that be romantic, platonic, parental, mentor-apprentice, sibling, antagonistic, or what-have-you.

_Monday's Randomly-Generated Names_: Penny, Adam Taurus

* * *

Devils Unaware

**Summary**: Penny talks too much, Adam avoids a confrontation he isn't prepared for.

* * *

"Sal-u-tations!"

Adam paused, his steaming mug halfway to his lips. Something told him that greeting was addressed to him. Why? Who here would dare to address him? He scanned the mostly-empty café, honestly curious, and met a pair of oddly coruscating spring-green eyes in a freckled face. A cursory scan dismissed the tiny girl instantly as a potential threat, but that left the question of why she would greet him.

"Do you know me?" he asked slowly.

She didn't smell like a faunus—didn't seem to smell like much of anything, actually, though that could just be the tea still under his nose and the cloying odor of the city—but that only narrowed down the list of her possible identities to _nobody I know_. Adam only willingly interacted with a handful of humans, and she was none of them.

His eyes narrowed, and for an instant he missed his mask. This city was a _hole_, and though he had deemed the indulgence of a hot cup of tea to be worth the risk of entering what he could only think of as _enemy territory_… Being a revolutionary left a man like him…justifiably cautious when he was accosted.

The girl's next answer completely derailed his train of thought.

"I do not. I am awaiting the arrival of my friends and was attempting to initiate polite conversation; in common parlance, 'small talk'." She tilted her head. "Have I made some error?"

"You're expecting company?" Adam ignored her question. It was irrelevant. Incoming company, though… Adam had come here for quiet, and a group of chattering teenagers would defeat the purpose of escaping Cinder's little minions.

"Oh yes, my good friend Ruby, and her teammates Weiss, Blake, and Yang," the girl offered easily.

As always, _that _name made Adam twitch. Even if there was no chance it was actually _her_, the memory of her betrayal still burned. Absently, he realized the odd redhead was still talking. "—met Ruby first, then again a short time later when her faunus friend went missing."

"A missing faunus?" Adam interrupted. Maybe a runaway? That was a potential recruit; someone he could swoop in and rescue and bring, trembling and grateful, into the fold.

"Yes, Blake had run away and Ruby would not tell me why, except that she had deceived them somehow."

Adam twitched again. That _name_. A faunus girl with that name, here in Vale. Ugh. What were the odds—

"If I were to conjecture, the only deception I can suppose is that friend Ruby somehow did not perceive her cat ears under the bow." The girl blathered on. "The three of them did appear surprised that I had noticed…"

Adam was no longer listening. Faunus girl. Cat ears. A liar and a runaway. And tying it all together, _that Dust-cursed __**name**_. His trembling stopped, and his hand closed reflexively around Wilt's hilt as a fact from earlier in the conversation trickled back into his mind. _She_ was coming _here_. Mask or no, she would recognize him. Like as not, she would attack, and he would attack back, no matter how much or how little he wanted to. He didn't know himself if he could be trusted not to strike first; less than sure, in fact, if he would sooner kiss her or kill her. Though he knew it would rankle later, the best option was to avoid this confrontation.

He found his feet, off-hand still on his blade. He slammed some lien on the table to cover his drink, just as a happy cry of "Penny!" came from around the corner of the block. Adam looked up and saw a short girl with reddish-black hair wearing a Beacon uniform, waving frantically.

"Sal-u-tations, friend Ruby!" the girl Adam had been speaking with called back, returning the wave. Ruby. The odd girl's friend.

Who was on a team with _her_.

It was time to be gone.

* * *

Penny caught up Ruby in a hug, holding her around the waist and spinning her around, making the trademark red cloak swirl and flap in the wind.

"Sorry we're late, Penny," Ruby wailed, for all the world apparently weeping.

"Don't you worry, Ruby, my friend! I have been speaking with this nice faunus gentleman," she turned to indicate where Adam had been standing, but found nothing but a rose petal on the table. "He's gone," she added, sounding a little confused.

"Well, you didn't hiccup, so I believe you, Penny," Ruby said soothingly, as the rest of Team RWBY arrived. Yang greeted Penny enthusiastically, Weiss with her usual reserve. Blake, however, was sniffing the remains of the abandoned mug, staring at the rose petal in her fingers.

"Is this yours?" she asked Ruby quietly, holding up the petal.

"Ruby!" Weiss scolded. "I have _told_ you about using your Semblance for something as silly as walking a single block!"

"That's not mine!" Ruby protested. "I didn't dash over here! Ask Penny!"

Blake was no longer listening. Her eyes scanned the surrounding streets, the alleys, the rooftops. Her lips curled in a snarl and she slowly crushed the wilted petal to pulp.

* * *

**A/N**: Look, I'm all for headcanons and getting more stories out there for obscure characters, but Adam has had about five minutes of screentime? I had to construct this out of whole cloth. That's why he barely talks; we basically know nothing about him. This story only worked at all because Penny is adorable. And what kills me is that I know there are even more obscure characters in the rotation—_*cough* Scarlet, Sage *unconvincing cough*_. You can't write fic about characters who **don't sodding ****_exist in canon yet_**.

*_exhales sharply_*

Okay, about this piece of trash I just wrote. The only headcanon I could come up with for Adam is that he's a bit of a narcissist; while Penny, obviously, is being her wonderful self. This is another combo that doesn't have a name. I dub this pairing Mechanical Bull.


	6. Defrosting

**A/N**: Created 31 March 2015. It's RWBY Relationship Week on Tumblr; the challenge is to take two randomly-selected characters and explore their relationship, whether that be romantic, platonic, parental, mentor-apprentice, sibling, antagonistic, or what-have-you.

_Tuesday's Randomly-Generated Names_: Weiss Schnee, Jaune Arc

* * *

Defrosting

**Summary**: Weiss overhears what was meant to be a private conversation, and starts to look at one Jaune Arc a little differently.

_Note: In the spirit of a ship week, this story actually is shippy; my comment this time is that I'm not sure why the preferred name for this ship is Weissgold, instead of continuing the War of the Roses metaphor from the Jaune/Ruby ship? Why not York, or something implying it? (Then the OT3 could be War of the Roses!) Ah well, that's just a quibble._

* * *

The strumming of a well-tuned guitar offset the somewhat off-key singing voice. That was about the only compliment that could be paid in this situation, thought an exasperated Weiss.

"Weiss Schnee…will you accompany me…to the dance onnnn… Sunday?" A final strum, and the guitar fell silent.

"Are you done?" Weiss asked, arching an eyebrow.

Jaune, standing in the hallway with the guitar he had just used to…serenade her…looked back at Weiss. He shrugged apprehensively. "Yes?"

"No," she delivered her response, then promptly shut the door.

Turning around, Weiss found both Ruby and Yang staring at her. "What?"

"_That_ is why they call you the Ice Queen," Yang told her reprovingly.

"All my life, boys have only cared about the perks of my last name!" Weiss spat. Chilly reputation or not, Weiss Schnee was nobody's fool. If it wasn't a boy looking for a…she believed the vulgar (in every sense) term was 'sugar momma'…it was undoubtedly some wannabe Neuhaus-type looking for a big-name conquest. "Besides, I already have a date in mind."

* * *

She had worked herself up to it that night and the whole of the following day, and had sped off to ask him right after class—and so what if it _was_ a little unorthodox for the girl to invite the boy to the dance?—but Neptune had turned her down. That was…highly unexpected. His assurances that he would still see her there were little comfort as Weiss felt her smiling mask settle firmly into place. She barely heard her own empty replies before she made her way back toward her dorm.

She walked at a perfectly natural pace, regardless of how much she wanted to run the whole way at Ruby-speed and bury herself under her blankets. Her dignity would permit nothing less, and for once she thanked her father's lessons in etiquette. Harsh, cold, and impersonal as the so-called 'high life' could be, Weiss never regretted the training that allowed her to rein in her emotions and continue to act rationally.

It made sense, therefore, that she was immediately able to rationalize that she had far too much to focus on to be worrying about boys. Weiss was self-aware enough to recognize the excuse for the dissembling that it was, but also knew that she could latch onto it and not be questioned. Reaching her dorm building, Weiss mounted the stairs, glad now that she had waited until after last period to ask, so she wouldn't have to try to pay attention in class like this. She could do so, no doubt, but repressing to _that_ degree was rarely a good idea. Reaching the correct hallway, she paused at seeing Ruby with an ear pressed against Team JNPR's door across the hall from their own.

"Ruby, what are you-"

"Shhhhh!" Ruby hushed her frantically, waving for her to come closer and listen. Weiss sighed, knowing her team leader wouldn't let this go or let her rest until she got her way, Weiss decided not to fight it this time. She simply didn't have the energy.

She approached and leaned in to listen as well, hearing Jaune talking to…Ren, she thought? The conversation was one-sided, but Pyrrha would be answering politely and Nora would be talking over him, so Ren was the most likely choice.

"I just…don't know…how to…_girls_. Um." The blond boy's stammering and obvious awkwardness made her actually sympathise. It was actually rather cute. "I—I guess what I'm asking is… Well, how did you and Nora…y'know…?"

Ren, evidently shocked, was actually audible in his own stammering. Nora, apparently in the room, explained awkwardly that she and Ren were not a couple.

"Huh," Weiss said quietly to Ruby, under cover of Jaune shouting anxiously at Nora. "Funny, I really thought they were actually together."

"Shhhhh!" Ruby covered Weiss' mouth herself. Weiss flinched back—a lifetime of distance and sensitivity to touch flaring up as it so often did around her hyperactive partner—and slapped Ruby's hand down harshly, but fell silent as Ren's voice drifted through the door again.

"Jaune, what is this all about?" That might be the most she has heard Ren say at once, outside of class.

Someone within, presumably Jaune, heaved a sigh. "It's…Weiss."

Weiss froze.

"I'm completely head-over-heels for her," Jaune continued, "And she won't even give me a chance. She's cold…but she's also incredible."

Weiss saw Ruby looking up at her, but was too busy staring at nothing to pay her leader any attention.

Jaune was still going: "She's smart, and graceful, and talented…I mean, have you heard her sing?"

Weiss was inwardly reeling. Not a word about her looks, money, or family name? Yet she could not very well be offended—his candid description of her was…glowing. The compliments he had paid to her grace and intelligence meant a lot more than her physical appearance, no matter how much work she put into the latter. And…Jaune had heard her sing? When? _How_? It wasn't something she did in public, and certainly not here at Beacon, no matter how often Ruby tried to drag her to karaoke, and her father had never allowed recordings of her performances. That meant that Jaune had seen her _live_.

Ingrained reflexive self-reflection once again brought several salient details to Weiss' attention. Yes, her performances were generally to a relatively-full crowd, but that crowed generally comprised a far older demographic. Weiss was classically-trained, and while she knew she was talented enough to have earned her Kammersängerin accolade, she also knew that the style she favored was mostly appreciated by an audience not only at least three times Jaune's age, but generally far more sophisticated than he appeared to be. That implied there might be some hidden depths to the leader of Team JNPR, or perhaps that he simply took his sophisticated good taste so much for granted that he didn't wear it like a mask, as Weiss herself so often did. It was probably also worth noting that the vast majority of her performances had been in Atlas…and though she was not completely sure, she was at least fairly certain that Jaune's family was from Vale. That implied an air-trip to Atlas to see the performance in question, when Jaune was infamous amongst the first-year students for having a weak stomach in the air.

Dimly, she realized Jaune was _still_ explaining himself to his roommates. Had it really only been a few seconds? "-just wish she'd take me seriously, y'know?"

This, Weiss was forced to admit, was the honest truth—she really didn't take Jaune Arc seriously and never had since his absurd attempts at flirtation in the locker room on Initiation Day. Though he had, thankfully, toned down the 'Snow Angel'-type comments by a huge margin, he still asked her for dates with alarming regularity given her invariable response. Honestly, wasn't one 'No' enough?

Even so…she could admit to herself, at least, that she had been lumping Jaune with virtually every other boy to have shown even a modicum of interest in her.

"I wish I could tell her how I feel without messing it all up," Jaune finally finished, ending on another sigh.

_You just did_, Weiss thought. _But now I'm not sure what _I'm_ supposed to do about it_. She blinked, coming out of her reverie as both Ren and Nora haltingly tried to advise him to simply be himself, and be honest. Ruby was still staring up at her, eyes wide, but the smile playing around the younger girl's lips was decidedly mischievous.

"Ruby, _no_!" Weiss tried to hiss, as her team leader's hand closed on the handle of the door they were both leaning against.

"Team leader's prerogative," Ruby whispered back smugly. She turned the handle, gave the door a gentle push, and then dashed away using her Semblance. Weiss, fortunately graceful enough not to have her weight leaning on the door, did not stumble or fall in, as she supposed Ruby had hoped for, but she also had no time to get out of sight the way her speedy partner had.

Nora's expression was one of shock, and even Ren looked momentarily dumbstruck. Jaune, though, looked mortified. He opened his mouth, but no words came out. Weiss, for her part, was nearly as appalled at being revealed eavesdropping as he appeared to be at being overheard, but she hid it all behind her usual blank expression, glad for the second time today of her unshakable reserve.

"May I speak with you, privately?" she asked Jaune, her tone soft but plainly brooking no argument. He simply hung his head, making no effort to move despite how clear it was that he would rather jump out the window.

Weiss met Nora's eyes, and the orange-haired girls' widened perceptibly. "Of course," she said, still a little unsteadily. Ren barely had time to grab his clothes—Weiss vaguely registered he was only wearing a towel; apparently Jaune had demanded his advice immediately as he was leaving the shower—before Nora pushed him ahead of her out the door. Weiss had taken a step inside to let them pass, and now shut the door behind them, leaning against it.

Jaune refused to raise his eyes from the floor.

"Did you mean all that?" Weiss asked quietly. "This is what was behind the asinine 'cool-guy' façade?"

"…Yes," Jaune whispered, voice breaking.

"This is why you wouldn't take 'No' for an answer?" she pressed, voice hardening slightly.

Finally, an expression other than humiliation crossed Jaune's face. It looked like self-disgust. "Yes," he repeated, still no louder. "I…after today I was ready to give up. That stunt with the guitar was as much of the 'real me' as I was going to be able to show; instead of trying to be suave, it let me be silly, which is something I actually am. I thought it might get your tiny smile, if nothing else." His eyes still downcast, Jaune failed to see the smile he had hoped for flickering across Weiss' lips. "When that failed, I realized I was going to have to get over it, because you _had_ told me 'no' more times than you should ever have had to." He forced a mirthless laugh. "My sisters would beat me if they knew how many 'no's I've ignored. I'd deserve it."

There was no implied martyrdom in his voice; no hint that having attention drawn to his error and being called was the real problem for him—he was genuinely upset with himself for being overly persistent and pushing too hard.

"So you were going to finally take a hint, you obstinate dolt?" Weiss asked him, letting her usual frostiness seep through.

Jaune's voice got, if anything, even quieter. "Yes. I'd rather have a crush from a distance and see you happy than ever be a reason for that happiness to go away."

"Well then," Weiss drew herself up and crossed the room, stopping in front of Jaune. "If you really _have_ learned your lesson and think you can manage to continue being honest with yourself instead of trying to project some absurd machismo…" Jaune's eyes rose, apparently in spite of himself, until he was looking her in the face. His expression of misery faded slightly as he saw that she didn't look angry, or even blank. Instead, she was wearing a small, honest smile. "Perhaps I may consider allowing you to accompany me to the dance."

Jaune blinked, then again, then yet again. One might have expected a smile of accomplishment to bloom on his face, but the seconds lengthened and he just continued to look stunned and uncomprehending.

"Even…even after everything?" he asked, sounding frankly bewildered.

Weiss smirked playfully, something she rarely did even with her teammates, much less in the presence of Jaune 'Obnoxious' Arc. "Most boys would not be questioning me at this point."

He stammered a little, but Weiss talked over him. "I don't say things unless I mean them. I've seen the real you from time to time; when we're on a mission together and the pressure's on, when you stop worrying about your reputation and begin acting like an honest leader. _That_ is the Jaune Arc whom I might allow to escort me."

Jaune just continued to stare.

"You didn't know who I was on Initiation Day, did you?" she asked shrewdly, changing the subject to drive her point home.

"…No," he confessed. "Just like I didn't recognize Pyrrha." He shrugged helplessly. "I guess I really am _pretty_ sheltered. I only remembered you from a concert I saw a couple years ago. I thought you were amazing." He glanced to the side, blushing a little. "And beautiful."

Weiss reached out and brushed her fingers against his cheek, ignoring the tremor that shook her own spine at the light contact as she turned Jaune's head back to face her. "That's the good sort of honesty that I was talking about, Jaune."

He reached up, very slowly, and laid his fingers over hers, still resting against the side of his face. He looked incredulous, unable to believe that she was touching him. Weiss, who had been doing everything in her power not to jerk her hand away as if scalded, abruptly realized that the warmth coming from Jaune's fingers was actually…rather pleasant, now that she allowed herself to feel it. Perhaps she could really consider offering him a dance.

Weiss continued, "In the interest of that same honesty, I'm going to admit to you now that there are things about _me_ that you do not know and will have to accept. Do that with fairness and integrity, and I think I would be quite pleased to have you at my side on Sunday."

She straightened up and picked a rose petal off the shoulder of her bolero. "If you're not too busy right now," she added. "I believe I have some payback to plan against a certain devious team leader, who is probably all too pleased with herself right about now. Care to join me?"

At long last, Jaune smiled.

* * *

**A/N**: This pairing seems almost nonexistent. Is Arkos that much of an OTP for _everyone_? (Or maybe it's that this gets in the way of White Rose? Or both?) Whatever, I gave it a shot, because I honestly like Jaune. He's a lot of things: lazy, goofy, oblivious, a bit slow… but he's not a liar. Weiss complains in _Extracurricular_ that guys hitting on her are always (essentially) golddiggers, but we see in _Burning the Candle_ that her potential inheritance doesn't even occur to him. Jaune Arc is the sort of actual nice guy that fedora-topped neckbeards the world over _think_ they are.

One or two for-want-of-a-nail tweaks here and there, and I could honestly see this arc (no pun intended) having been canon. Arkos is a bit too entrenched in canon to switch now, but I don't think this is an unreasonable AU. My headcanon of Touch Defensive!Weiss shines through. This actually ran a LOT longer than I was expecting, but I also really enjoyed it. Weiss is one of my favorite characters, and Jaune is too much of an everydude to not be relatable. In the end, the fact that it ran so long for a one-shot tells me that this pairing is growing on me. I haven't really seen any shipping wars in the FNDM but if there is…hey, come at me, bro. If not, maybe I've helped even just a couple people see this my way?


	7. Talking Trash

**A/N**: Created 01 April 2015. It's RWBY Relationship Week on Tumblr; the challenge is to take two randomly-selected characters and explore their relationship, whether that be romantic, platonic, parental, mentor-apprentice, sibling, antagonistic, or what-have-you.

**Happy Anniversary, Rooster Teeth!**

_Wednesday's Randomly-Generated Names_: Velvet Scarlatina, Mercury Black

* * *

Talking Trash

**Summary**: Mercury is good at video games. Velvet is better.

_Note: Once again I find myself faced with a combo that doesn't have an established name. I'm going with Bunboats._

* * *

Mercury Black smirked in the darkness of his room. Emerald and Cinder were out, and better yet, the latter had no plans for either of them this weekend. Being that they were fake students, the 'homework' they were 'sending back to Haven to be graded' was simply ignored, which meant Mercury had plenty of time over the next day to dedicate to a videogame he had discovered a little while back—just long enough back for Mercury to be the uncontested best _Solipsis_ player of anyone he had ever seen.

Mercury liked being the best. He had few equals in the coliseum, and less still in a real fight where he didn't have to hold back. He was no slouch with traditional weapons, either—having hands as steady as his nerves did him no end of credit. Cinder was his boss for the time being, but working as a crime boss held no appeal to Mercury as any possible facet of being 'the best', and Cinder was understanding enough to ensure he didn't have to deal with people very much, so he found the benefits of continuing to work with her outweighing the annoyances of her imperious nature. In general, it ended up meaning more free time for him to play, which suited him because the nature of the competitive gameplay meant he could climb to the top of the scoreboard and be visibly the best for everyone playing to see. The impersonality of gaming online was also attractive—he didn't have to fake any tiresome emotions like he did when out among the plebs.

Sipping a beer Emerald had smuggled into the dorm, Mercury dismissed that train of thought. Entirely too contemplative for the occasion. Today was not a day for introspection. (Few were.) Today was a day for wrecking anyone who came into the match until they all gave up. Mercury's smirk became a feral grin. After all, what could be more fun for him than wrecking someone else's? He hadn't had the chance to play since they came to Beacon, and there were bound to be plenty of scrubs to beat down.

Loading in, Mercury joined an ongoing Massacre Match—meaning a free-for-all instead of the alternative _Reapers Versus Butchers_ team matchup or the _Hendentures_ capture-the-flag mode.

The first five minutes of the match went predictably: Mercury spent his time dominating everyone playing and gaining endless amusement from the frustration visible in the in-game text chat. The running list of notifications in the top-right was endless notifications that so-and-so had been slain by Argyria, Mercury's in-game alias.

The coast clear, Mercury took a moment to to stretch, only to jerk back around in surprise as the controller vibrated hard, in response to his in-game avatar's death. Hmph. Well, the scrubs were bound to get lucky once in a while. _Slain by BurnoutHeart_ flashed across the screen, above a countdown to his next go, and Mercury made a point of memorizing the handle. Whoever BurnoutHeart was, they were going down Argyria-style. Since there was nothing to do while his character was dead except watch others play—and there was surely nothing more boring than that—Mercury pulled up the text chat and sent his own message.

* * *

‹Argyria› bad mistake  
‹Argyria› im coming for u

Velvet blinked, then rolled her eyes. Honestly, the people who played this game were so childish.

She recognized the hypocrisy in that, but there was just something about it that was dreadfully fun. Velvet didn't get out much, unless she was with her team, and with Coco out mentoring and Fox at a regular appointment, there wasn't anyone to force her out into the open. She rubbed her ears gingerly; Winchester had been at her again until Yatsuhashi saved her, but she couldn't inconvenience him all the time. It was just as well she was staying in, and even enjoying herself playing a fun game to pass the time. Even if the majority of its fans tended to take it _far_ too seriously.

Over the course of her next few lives, however, Velvet realized that this Argyria had been responsible for all of them. It was odd; she'd seen him walk into ambushes that he was plainly good enough to avoid, simply for the opportunity to kill her. It was as if he no longer cared about playing the game as long as he could ruin her playtime. Well, the joke was on him; Velvet may not have been a rabid fan, but she was more than competent enough. And…well, given the anonymity that playing behind a screen name offered…perhaps it wasn't any surprise that next time Argyria said something in the chat, she plucked up the nerve to reply.

She had just fallen victim to an energy-bomb that also took out Argyria himself when the chat sound effect played.

‹Argyria› u mad?

Velvet took hold of her courage and replied.

‹BurnoutHeart› No, but it sounds like you may be feeling a bit salty.

A moment later, the reply came in.

‹Argyria› sum1 is full of vinegar

At that moment, Velvet's character respawned, which meant Argyria must have as well. Which meant that she had an advantage; she knew where he was coming from and that he would be coming straight for her. Tactically, she had already won. Rather than charge straight ahead as Argyria was doing, she flanked the main path and picked him off at long range. Knowing it would be a few minutes before he returned again, she moved to a different vantage point, and sniped him again when he returned.

His chats became shorter, angrier, and altogether much less intelligible as the match proceeded until, with a minute to go, Velvet found herself at the top of the scoreboard and six points above Argyria due to the bonus she got for her streak of successful kills without dying in-between. Other players were ignoring those nearest them to search for her, but she eliminated them whenever they got close, always keeping an eye out for Argyria. Finally, the match ended, and the final tally recorded BurnoutHeart in a runaway first place, well ahead of Argyria's second.

Smiling at her success, Velvet felt a sort of daring seize her again, and used the post-game chat to deliver a boast her team leader would have been proud of.

‹BurnoutHeart› Maybe you should buy a blender  
‹BurnoutHeart› So you can drink that down

Velvet's cheeks burned with embarrassment at her own audacity, and she was almost afraid to look back at the chat when she heard the sound effect again.

‹Argyria has left the game.›

* * *

**A/N**: Here's a bit of videogame-related silliness for Rooster Teeth's anniversary XD I tried to put in as many references as I could, but I've never played Halo or watched RvB so I was kinda scrambling. See if you can spot them (they're probably all very obvious and not nearly as clever as I think they are).

Mercury is a sore loser. Velvet is a silent assassin. Argyria comes from hydrargyrum, an old name for elemental mercury. BurnoutHeart references Velvet's insignia (a heart with stitches) and Devoré, a type of velvet (AKA "burnout velvet") which imprints a velvet pattern upon another type of fabric. Velvs isn't a casual gamer, she just really enjoys playing and doesn't take the game so seriously that she stops having fun. For Mercury though, it's all about winning.

Yeah, this is probably stretching it on the whole "relationship" part of the challenge, although this is certainly still adversarial. I blame my weird, weird rolls.


	8. Any Port In A Storm

**A/N**: Created 02 April 2015. It's RWBY Relationship Week on Tumblr; the challenge is to take two randomly-selected characters and explore their relationship, whether that be romantic, platonic, parental, mentor-apprentice, sibling, antagonistic, or what-have-you.

_Thursday's Randomly-Generated Names_: Professor Port, Velvet Scarlatina

_Note: I personally added Professor Port to my roulette after removing some of the other names that I thought shouldn't be there. Hopefully the good Professor will be remembered next time! Incidentally, calling this pair Peter Cottontail._

* * *

Any Port In A Storm

**Summary**: Pre-canon, Team CFVY's first year. Velvet learns to always bring a spotter.

* * *

Velvet Scarlatina—_poor, shy Velvet_, she thought bitterly—had a problem. This problem came in the form of a barbell currently suspended, trembling, an inch or so above her chest, which she hadn't the strength to push back up to the rack. Worse, she had come straight here after a difficult bout against her teammate Fox in the coliseum, so her Aura was rather low. If she tried to move out from under the bar, she might drop it and seriously hurt herself. And worst of all, Velvet was willing to accept help from just about _anybody_ right about now, but nobody knew she was even here. Velvet's eyes slid closed as she strained to keep the bar off herself. There was nobody coming.

* * *

The match against Fox had gone so badly… Not that he was insufferable about it; Fox seemed far too kind for that. But it had been a Dustless spar, and served to highlight just how far behind the rest of her team Velvet was, physically. She was fast, yes, and agile, but so was Fox, and Velvet's Faunus heritage that she had relied on until now simply wasn't enough to keep her ahead by itself.

That meant she had to get stronger, and she wanted to get stronger _now_. Her team had been so wonderful to her over the month since their initiation, beginning to draw the painfully shy Velvet out of her shell just a little while around them. They never pushed too hard, but that simply made Velvet's drive not to let them down all the more powerful. They were relying on her!

So she had slipped away from the showers as Coco had begun washing her hair for the second time, changed into a fresh set of workout clothes, and headed straight for the seldom-used traditional-style gym. Most students preferred to spar for their exercise, and the few she knew who actually lifted weights often had a set of dumbbells in their rooms for personal use. This early in the evening, as a dusky night just began to fall, the room was empty.

She clicked the lights on, decided to forego a warmup on the treadmill since she had just come from the coliseum, and began loading weighted plates onto a barbell. Squatting her own weight ought to be a good place to start, and she would figure out what came next later. She wouldn't inconvenience anyone, in the gym or out of it.

When she was done with the sets, she shifted the weight plates to another barbell on a bench press, ignoring the fact that she probably ought to reduce the total weight. Her Aura would take care of the difference, she thought…not realizing just how depleted she was. She didn't even make a single rep before she found herself stuck, arms shaking, and utterly panicking.

* * *

Velvet's eyes were squeezed shut as she tried to keep the barbell from crushing her. It wouldn't _kill_ her, that was preposterous, but she could do herself a serious injury if she weren't careful. Just as Velvet was screwing up her courage to try escaping from under the bar, the majority of the pressure on her arms suddenly seemed to disappear. She opened her eyes, and found herself looking up into the crinkled, smiling eyes of Professor Port. He had a hand on the bar as well, taking most of the weight so that Velvet could push it back up.

Velvet's Aura sense hadn't told her he was even there, which implied he was suppressing his Aura entirely; something that only fully-qualified Huntsmen could manage. It also meant that he wasn't borrowing strength from his Aura at the moment, as he easily helped raise the bar she had struggled with off of her; her entire body weight lifted effortlessly with one hand and settled back onto the rack.

"You have been working hard, dear girl," he said, his bristling moustache billowing slightly. Velvet fought an insane urge to giggle at the sight. "To come build your strength even when your Aura is low shows the determination of a true Huntress!" Now Velvet felt herself smile, almost in spite of herself. "Still, prudence dictates that one keep oneself safe with a spotter, just as we Huntsmen keep ourselves safe in the field with the help of a partner!" Velvet hung her head, but Professor Port continued, kindly. "Would you do me the honour of allowing me to spot for you this evening, young Huntress?"

Smile returning slowly, Velvet gave a shy nod, absorbing the advice Professor Port wove through his usual bombast, as he went about reducing the weight on the barbell to a level he thought Velvet could handle. When the Professor mentioned coming to the gym every evening at this time, Velvet thought that she had found someone else, outside her team, whom she could be her quiet self around.

* * *

**A/N**: I wasn't sure how this was going to work out, but really, the idea of Professor Port as Velvet's mentor grew on me. "Peter Cottontail" works for me, firstly because Peter is Professor Port's first name, but also because in the original 1914 story, the character (at the time simply named Peter Rabbit) grew upset with his plain-sounding name and began calling himself Peter Cottontail because he felt it made him sound more important, and began acting haughtily and pretentiously because of it…which I can't help but compare to Professor Port's bluster. (Though, as I've hinted at in other oneshots, I happen to think there's respectability and power hiding behind that rambling, just as there was behind Oobleck's hyperactive silliness. Port is in his 50s in a dangerous profession. There's a _reason_ he's lived that long.)


	9. Thief of the Knight

**A/N**: Created 03 April 2015. It's RWBY Relationship Week on Tumblr; the challenge is to take two randomly-selected characters and explore their relationship, whether that be romantic, platonic, parental, mentor-apprentice, sibling, antagonistic, or what-have-you.

_Friday's Randomly-Generated Names_: Emerald Sustrai, Jaune Arc

* * *

Thief of the Knight

**Summary**: Jaune learns to fight dirty. AU Post-Volume 2.

_Note: Another new combination. Erm… Topaz!_

* * *

Jaune Arc collapsed bonelessly down the wall, and only Pyrrha's weapon, Miló, in its spear form kept him from hitting the floor as it caught at his hood yet again. He sighed.

"Let's call it a night, Jaune," Pyrrha said kindly, raising a hand and using her Semblance to call Miló back to her hand. Deprived of his attachment, Jaune's rear hit the roof they used for practice. He pressed a hand to his forehead. "You've improved a lot," Pyrrha added encouragingly.

"I'm still miles…behind you," he panted, not looking at her.

He could all but see her warm smile. "Your rate of improvement is still accelerating, Jaune. You'll find yourself helping the rest of us keep up with you, soon enough." She ruffled his hair as she passed him, headed inside and presumably for the showers.

Jaune remained on the roof, staring out toward the sea as light bled from the sky. He was gazing into space, apparently looking at the shimmering light that Ruby had told him was her old school, Signal, on her home island of Patch, but seeing nothing. He still wasn't good enough—at anything. During what Team RWBY had taken to calling 'the Breach' the week before, all he'd managed to do was kill one lousy Ursa. He hadn't been able to bring himself even to shout a battle cry to inspire his team—he was pretty sure that was part of a leader's job, but Pyrrha had done it for him.

Jaune bit his lip. Pyrrha did a lot for him, but he couldn't very well resent a girl who was doing so much to help him.

"Oi. Blondie." The voice came from…above him?

Jaune jumped to his feet and backed away from the wall where he'd been leaning, hand reaching for the hilt of his sword. Crouched there, on the higher rooftop directly over where he had been sitting, was a girl he had seen around Beacon on occasion. She was one of the exchange students—from Haven Academy in Mistral, he thought. She had coppery-dark skin and bobbed green hair, with two longer locks falling over her shoulders as she looked down at him with sparkling red eyes. She also seemed to be holding…

Jaune's hand, which had been questing for his sword hilt, closed on air, and he glanced down to find Crocea Mors' sheath was empty. Looking back up with dawning embarrassment, he discovered that the girl was, indeed, holding his sword.

"Be more aware of your surroundings."

"How did you even-" Jaune stammered.

"That'd be telling," she smirked. "Just be glad I didn't take your wallet instead." She tossed the sword back to him, and he caught it awkwardly. "You suck pretty bad for someone who practices so hard," she observed.

"Gotta get better somehow," he mumbled, embarrassed. "Always need experience…"

Jaune stopped talking as the girl hopped nimbly down to the same section of roof he stood on, bending down as she brushed some imaginary dust from the knee of her chaps, and perhaps unwittingly giving him a rather magnificent view down her rather low-cut top. He gulped, but before he could look away, her head shot back up. Jaune could feel himself blushing at being apparently peeping—it had been an accident, honestly!—but an almost predatory smirk spread across the girl's face.

"You've got your Scroll, don't you?" she asked. "Take a picture, it'll last longer."

Jaune shook his head frantically, taking a hasty step back. "I-I didn't mean to-" But she was advancing on him now, and eyeing him up and down; still smiling, and swaying her hips perhaps slightly more than was necessary. "I'm sorry, I-"

"No need to apologize," she drawled, following him slowly around the roof as he backed away, circling so as not to fall of the roof. She cornered him in less than a minute, as his back hit the wall on the other side of the door, and she stepped deliberately into his personal space. She was slightly shorter than him; the top of her head just level with his eyes if he stood up straight…though he rarely did.

"I-uh, I-"

The girl placed her hands on the wall on either side of him, caging him loosely against the wall with her body, and leaning even closer. Jaune very carefully kept his eyes from wandering, but even looking at her face didn't make him feel entirely secure with that knowing smirk.

"What're you running away for?" she purred. "There's no need to play hard to get."

Jaunes brain was rapidly shutting down, but he was far from giving up. He reached for one of her hands, but the girl was having none of it. She caught his wrist instead, slamming it against the wall as she ran her other hand over his stomach, just below his chest plate.

"_Nice_ abs," she growled appreciatively. "I can see someone appreciates the benefits of working out without Aura."

Actually it was more like he simply hadn't had the option of using Aura until Beacon, so there was nothing for it but to pump iron, but this girl nibbling on his neck was making it progressively hard to think and…

Jaune twisted against the wall, but rather than escape, he simply ended up flat on his back with her straddling him, now with both his hands pinned and her teeth scraping his earlobe.

"You said you needed some _experience_, right?" she hissed, her breath whispery and warm against his skin. She was so _warm_. "Well, I'm in the mood to give you some. Not every reward has to be hard-won. I'm right here—" she grinded against him "—and I don't hear you saying no."

Jaune groaned deep in his throat, but couldn't contradict her. She was undeniably attractive, and equally undeniably into him, at least for tonight. That…was okay, right?

As though she had read his mind, she breathed, "You want this. I want this. It's _allowed_ to be that simple."

She bit his neck much more roughly than before. As he groaned again, Jaune got his arms free from her grip and wrapped them around her.

* * *

**A/N**: Because sometimes (most of the time, really) Jaune needs things spelled out for him. And honestly, I don't think Emerald would need a better reason than, "Eh, I feel like it." Who knows, maybe it'll help him loosen the hell up around the women in his life.

I'm definitely earning my T-rating here ›_›

I agonized a bit over the pairing name, and I reserve the right to change it if I think of something better. …Really, this was all I had. It's a yellow gemstone. Sue me.


	10. Melting

**A/N**: Created 04 April 2015. It's RWBY Relationship Week on Tumblr; the challenge is to take two randomly-selected characters and explore their relationship, whether that be romantic, platonic, parental, mentor-apprentice, sibling, antagonistic, or what-have-you.

_Saturday's Randomly-Generated Names_: Weiss Schnee, Yang Xiao Long (Freezerburn)

* * *

Melting

**Summary**: Weiss is cold. Yang is hot. Together, comfort. Freezerburn fluff.

* * *

Yang groaned as the bed shifted.

"Hnnnggg… Come back to beeeeed…" she dragged the syllables out, rolling away from the light pouring in through the window.

It was pointless, of course. Once Weiss was awake, she was _awake_, and no amount of complaining could convince her to go back to bed. Yang couldn't understand it. She'd happily sleep all night and then all day too. It wasn't as if they had class, and the room was empty except for them. Blake and Fox had taken Ruby and Jaune camping this weekend of winter break—Jaune because he needed the experience, Ruby because she felt like going along. Honestly, Yang might have worried that there was something between those two… But even if there were, she knew full-well that Jaune would never pluck up the nerve to make a move, and Ruby was too demi to pursue anything that she wasn't certain was reciprocated.

The blanket being yanked off her interrupted Yang's sleepy musings, and she groaned again.

"Get up!" Weiss growled. "I know you're awake; it's no use pretending!"

Yang flailed for the blanket, but Weiss had pulled it off the bed entirely.

"No!" she insisted. "Yang Xiao Long, you promised to at least _sit_ with me while I researched today!"

This was completely true…though Yang had agreed hoping it would be a bit later in the day, and she could simply enjoy a bit of cuddling while Weiss read. Not this Early O'Clock bullshit. Yang groped blindly for the blanket, still not opening her eyes.

"It's too cold to leave the bed yet," she grunted as she caught the blanket's edge. She gave it a tug, but Weiss was plainly holding onto it.

Weiss scoffed. "Like you're not _always_ warm anyway."

Yang grinned into the pillow, then rolled over. "S'why you love me. 'Cause you're always cold. C'mere, Ice Queen, and I'll warm you up." She tightened her grip on the blanket, then yanked abruptly. Weiss gave a tiny shriek and overbalanced, landing on top of Yang, just as planned. Yang wrapped her arms around the smaller girl's waist and cuddled her like a teddy bear, pressing a kiss to the top of the heiress' head.

"Argh, let go of me, you brute!" Weiss complained, with absolutely no conviction. Weiss' sensory defensiveness acted up a lot around Ruby, because Yang's little sister was all about sudden pokes and prods and shoulder-grabs. With Yang, there was no in-between: every hug was a deep, serious bear hug, and something about it made Weiss melt into her arms every time.

"I need to studyyy!" Now Weiss was whining, but Yang was having none of it. She pulled the blanket back over both of them.

"It's a weekend _and_ a holiday, Princess, and we get to spend 'em alone, together," Yang whispered, holding Weiss even closer. Somehow, the young heiress was always _cool_ to the touch, in a way that was simply incomprehensible to Yang.

Weiss maintained that she was normal, and Yang was simply warm like the summer sun in all its glory. Yang didn't put much thought in it.

She was hot. Weiss was cold. But together…

Weiss seemed to give up the struggle, as the blonde had known she would. She felt the tension slowly leaving the other girl's muscles, as she wrapped her arms around Yang and nuzzled into her neck.

"Oh, all right," she huffed. "But only because it's so comfortable here."

Weiss wouldn't sleep, Yang knew. But Yang herself could, for a little while longer. And Weiss would stay, and relax, and be content. That was good enough.

* * *

**A/N**: Truthfully (and no offense if this is your OTP), I think Freezerburn is probably the weakest ship out of Team RWBY. Not to say that I don't think it could work, but that I see other combinations initiating far more easily. Still, I hope this turned out okay? Let me know.


	11. Thinking Makes It Seem…

**A/N**: From a Tumblr request.

**Request**: Can we have black sun with Sun confessing to Blake? And Blake never even expecting it and ignoring it the first time he says it uwu? (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧

* * *

Thinking Makes It Seem…

**Summary**: Blake had a lot on her mind, but Sun was going to do his damnedest to put a smile on her face.

* * *

Blake had a lot on her mind.

She was perched on a branch at the edge of the Emerald Forest, ostensibly reading a book, but actually lost in her concerns over the White Fang's involvement in the Breach. The rest of her team appeared to want to put the whole ordeal behind them and focus on classes again, but Blake couldn't just shake it off so easily. She had thought that Yang, at least, would understand, after that big lecture before the school dance, but even her blonde-haired partner seemed content to let the Atlesian Military sweep the matter under the rug.

The leaves of the tree rustled, and Blake tensed, but a familiar scent on the air saw her relax again. Not Grimm. Just the one…friend…that she couldn't shake off as easily as just ignoring him. Sun.

As if thinking his name summoned him, she saw him swing suddenly into her peripheral vision. His arms and legs were folded; clearly he was hanging by his tail from a branch above. She could never get over how that slender tail could possibly support his whole weight, but there it was.

Blake ignored him, still staring at her book.

Why _were_ there so many troops in Vale? It couldn't just be defense for the Festival. The degree of mobilization had undoubtedly made a critical difference during the battle…but in Blake's opinion, the number of troops that Atlas had brought _before_ was more like what she would have expected to arrive _after_ such an attack. Now that the Breach had been closed, the robots were pouring in at a rate she thought frankly excessive. This General Ironwood…Did he _know_ something? Did Ozpin? Was that why he had allowed Blake to take the mission to Quadrant 5 in the Southeast. Mountain Glen had been a complete trainwreck… Blake groaned internally. Yang was rubbing off on her.

Honestly, Blake had been expecting something like this since Ruby's encounter with the intruder in the CCT during the dance, but had been confident they would be able to stop the White Fang during their mission with Doctor Oobleck. They had instead been exhausted, separated, and comprehensively beaten, even before the final crash that let Grimm pour into Vale. That implied planning, even if the enemy's timetable had been forcibly moved up by their presence. _Someone_ was calling the shots and manipulating both the underworld and the White Fang…and whatever the man claimed, she wasn't buying that it was Torchwick.

"Busy?" Sun asked, finally, apparently having cottoned on that she wasn't about to start a conversation.

"Mm," she replied, continuing to ignore him.

None of her teammates showed any inclination to discuss the matter, however, so Blake kept her ponderings to herself, staring blankly at the pages of the books she held in front of her to disguise the fact that her mind was elsewhere. And it was working: there hadn't been another "intervention" by her partner or searching questions from her team leader about the contents of her sketchbooks.

"I love you, you know."

Blake wasn't listening, still staring blindly at the book. It was the same one she had been reading on that first night at Beacon, when Yang and Ruby had introduced themselves. She had tried to ignore them—still often did so, in fact—but the spirited sisters had a way of worming their way into your heart. It had worked on Weiss, and so help her, it had worked on Blake. That was why it hurt so much that they weren't taking the threat of Torchwick and the White Fang _seriously_. Weiss was brilliant, Ruby intuitive, and Yang far deeper than she let on. Between them, Blake was sure that they could brainstorm some method, some motive…but they didn't seem to care.

"I know you're not really ignoring me, you've just tuned me out. That's okay. I can tell something's bugging you, but if you really wanted to be alone you'd have told me to go away."

Sun's voice was like the hum of a Bullhead's engine—a comforting background to her thoughts.

"It's the same as how you're staring at that book, even though you're not reading it."

So who _could_ it be? Who was on the table? That big White Fang lieutenant with the tattoos and custom mask? Not likely. Odd, too, that Blake didn't immediately recognize him. Who was he, and how had he shot up through the ranks so quickly, if he was indeed a newcomer? But it didn't make sense for him to be the mastermind—Torchwick had mentioned an "employer" at the White Fang Faction Meeting she and Sun had infiltrated, but hadn't acknowledged the lieutenant, who had introduced him, it didn't fit.

"S'the same as how you still wear that bow in private, even though your friends all know you're Faunus. You do things that comfort you and protect you automatically when there's something on your mind. That's okay, too."

As well, if the White Fang was Torchwick's employer, it wouldn't make sense for the criminal to be working for someone who wasn't the leader. The White Fang had plainly changed a lot, but Blake had a hard time imagining _him_ willingly employing a human thief. He had always insisted that what they were doing was for the greater good, and though she disagreed with his methods, she knew he still technically believed in and fought for the Faunus—and only the Faunus.

"You get really intense when you're thinking about something this much, you know that? Your eyes go all distant and you bite your lip…it's actually kinda hot."

That implied a third party. Perhaps that tiny illusionist that Yang had fought on the train? What had Torchwick called her? Neo? That sounded right. But if she was the mastermind, why would she be in the front line at all. And there had been no sign of her giving orders—hell, none of them had ever even heard her speak.

"I've been thinking about you, like, nonstop since we hung out in the city last semester. I think I started falling for you even before we really talked; just walking around with you, I felt…drawn."

Nobody else was springing to mind. Of course, who was to say that the mastermind was even someone they had met already, or even seen? A true chessmaster would keep themselves out of the way, wouldn't they? Whoever it was, she was confident that the likes of Torchwick weren't the strongest piece—more like a sacrificial knight that you sent out to probe the enemy's defenses.

"And that's why it doesn't bother me to say it. Maybe this can be something special, or maybe it's just something that can make us happy right now. 'Cause if that's how it goes, that's okay. You certainly seem like you could use some happiness. All I know is, it's as simple as that: I love you."

"What?" Sun's last words had broken through Blake's reverie, but she was left just as speechless.

"Welcome back to reality," Sun teased her.

"Did you just say you…love me?" Someone else might have let her book tumble to the ground, forgotten, but Blake didn't have it in her to be that careless with the written word. Still, she shut it, staring at Sun with her mouth slightly open.

"Well, yeah," he said, rotating slowly in place as he hung there. "Twice, actually. Neptune made me promise to come tell you how I feel. I knew you weren't listening so I was gonna just say it and leave, but…I got caught up in watching you, like I always do."

Sun's face was a little red, and she didn't think it was just from his time spent hanging upside down. He leaned toward her slightly, glancing anxiously up—well, down, relative to him—into her eyes when she remained frozen. Seeing she made no move to stop him, he kept going, and pressed his lips to hers.

The angle was awkward, with him hanging upside-down, but the kiss itself was long and sweet and full of energy, rather like Sun himself. Blake was more reserved, but found herself kissing him back, raising the hand not holding her book to run through Sun's spiky golden locks.

Eventually, Blake broke the kiss, though she didn't remove her hand. "You swear you're okay with just taking things as they come?" she asked nervously.

Sun's grin was beatific. "Right now, I don't want anything but you. We can deal with tomorrow, tomorrow."

Blake couldn't help it; a tiny smile stole across her face. Sun had evidently spotted it, for his own grin widened so much that his eyes crinkled shut. She was a long way from forgetting about Torchwick and the White Fang, but perhaps her worries could wait a few hours. She leaned forward herself this time and kissed Sun again, so that he didn't have to do all the work, her fingers tightening in his hair. Just for right now…this was okay.

* * *

**A/N**: Title from Journey To The West, _"Nothing in this world is difficult, but thinking makes it seem so."_ This ended up wordier than I expected but that's kinda how I think Blake's mind works. She obsesses over something and chases her tail in circles, not going anywhere. Sun isn't a simpleton by any stretch, but he'd rather take things as they come and try to make sure he finds happiness along the way, for himself and those he cares about.


	12. Hopeful Romantic

**A/N**By Tumblr request(s).

**Request**: Ruby Rose/Jaune Arc (Lancaster), at the fair/carnival, being romantic. (2 requests; 2 shots)

* * *

Hopeful Romantic

**Summary**: Jaune knows it's cliché, but Ruby loves it anyway.

* * *

Jaune sighed. Even with ten shots, he had only managed to hit two of the eight wooden Boarbatusks panning slowly across the far end of the shooting gallery.

"Jaunnnne," Ruby groaned good-naturedly. "I know you said you wanna win me a prize, but that was your fourth go! Let _me_ shoot!"

"Where's the romance in that?" Jaune grumbled, grudgingly letting Ruby take the rifle from him. He had really hoped to put on a better show. The peck she placed on his cheek made him feel a little better, though.

Ruby spent a moment examining the rifle; testing the weight of the trigger and looking along the barrel. She flicked at the ironsight with one finger, and wrinkled her nose.

"Crescent Rose would shoot way straighter than this old thing," she complained.

"That's kinda the point, Ruby," Jaune shot back.

Ruby's extremely mature reply was to blow a raspberry at him before stepping up to the bench.

Credit to the guy running the shooting gallery, Juane thought; he didn't say anything condescending about Ruby's chances, just handed her the clip and accepted her lien. The look he gave Jaune was a mixture between amusement and pity, but was quickly replaced by a look of astonishment as the rifle cracked eight times in rapid succession, and _all ten_ of the Boarbatusks fell down.

Recovering quickly, he accepted the gun back from Ruby and went to fetch a ladder to get her prize. Though, Jaune thought bitterly, with the amount of times he'd had to try again, he had pretty well just paid market price for the thing.

"So how the heck did you knock down all ten targets?" Jaune asked Ruby as they stepped back into the bright sunlight on the Vytal Festival's midway, his arms full of frankly the most ridiculously oversized stuffed Beowolf he had ever seen. "Some kinda…fancy ricochet trick?"

Ruby giggled; always one of Jaune's favorite sounds.

"Nahhh," she drew the sound out. "When I was taking out the second row I noticed the bar they were all attached to was wobbling, so I shot it and they all fell down."

Jaune snorted. "Only you, Ruby. I don't think anyone else would have even noticed."

The affection in his voice earned him another kiss, but the enormous plush Grimm in his hands made him overbalance, and they both fell in the dust, laughing uproariously. Jaune nuzzled Ruby for another moment, then pushed her off him with the prize, which she accepted so that he could get up.

Jaune got laboriously to his feet, dusting his pants in a theatrical manner. Then he shot Ruby a grin and started to walk away, hands in his pockets.

"Jaune!" Ruby yelped, following him unsteadily. "Hey! You're s'post'a carry this thing! I can't even see around it!" Chuckling, Jaune sped up. "Jaunnnne! You're the worst boyfriend ever!"

* * *

The following afternoon was the last of the Festival; the tournament having already concluded the day before meant that most people were taking it easy, gorging on Festival food for the last time in a while. Their teammates were scattered throughout the area. They were all going to meet up later for a final meal themselves, but they had until then all to themselves. Thus far, Jaune lamented, he had failed repeatedly—and in the case of that shooting gallery, spectacularly—in his plans to sweep Ruby off her feet and show her the most romantic time of her life, as he'd promised…but she didn't mind, really. They were spending time together. What more could she ask for?

The afternoon was winding down when Jaune nudged Ruby toward a ride. "Let's ride the big wheel," he suggested casually.

"Okie doke," Ruby agreed easily.

Jaune paid the operator for their fare as Ruby clambered into the gondola, which meant she didn't notice him slip the man some extra lien. She _did_ notice the operator tip Jaune a huge wink as he followed Ruby in, but thought nothing in it.

As the wheel climbed up for the first time, Ruby was leaning forward a little.

"Look, there's Weiss and Yang!" she pointed. Jaune looked, and sure enough, the white and yellow were unmistakable, even though the latter was topped with a novelty cowboy hat. As they watched, Weiss whipped the hat off Yang's head and gestured animatedly, but Yang simply snatched the hat back and forced it onto Weiss' head. Ruby giggled.

"Ren and Nora are down there," Jaune said, jerking his head toward the animal pens. "It's _'not a date'_, though, if you were wondering. Not that any of us were."

He stuck out his tongue, and Ruby giggled again. The wheel made a revolution and started up again, and soon they were both chuckling at what they were pretty sure was Yatsuhashi 'protecting' Velvet from the more-aggressive vendors, hoping to wring out a final few games.

On the third revolution, the sun was starting to go down. Jaune stuck a hand out the side of the car for a moment, apparently at his ease. Ruby was peering around the festival, looking for more of their friends, when the wheel suddenly slowed.

"Huh? Why's it stopping?" Ruby wondered.

"Because I asked it to," Jaune said. Ruby looked around at him, mouth a little open in bewilderment.

"Uh…why?"

"So we could watch the sun set over the Bay," he said simply.

Ruby stared at him for another moment. "Is this your latest romantic scheme?" she accused him.

"Yep," he replied, unashamed. "Is it working?"

Ruby grinned, leaning against him and resting her head on his shoulder.

"So am I still the worst boyfriend ever?" Jaune teased her gently, pulling her close.

She nuzzled into his neck and murmured happily, "Nuh uh. You're the best."

* * *

**A/N**: I toyed for a while with explicitly calling the place Dis-Schneeland, but decided against it in the end. That sort of comedy doesn't _quite_ match the tone of my usual stories. XD

So there you have it, a pair of cute, romantic, amusement-park oneshots for Lancaster! (Also some Freezerburn, Renora, and Cinnabun, I guess. If you squint.)


	13. Promises

**Note**: From a Tumblr request.

**Request**: Weiss Schnee/Blake Belladonna (Monochrome), no prompt.

* * *

Promises

**Summary**: In which Weiss offers Blake the apology she…ahem…_forgot_ at the end of _Black And White_.

* * *

"I know you're not looking forward to this, but I think it's gonna turn out okay," Yang Xiao Long told her partner as she strolled up to their dorm building, chivalrously holding the door for her. "Ruby's _spitting_ mad. I've never seen her like this."

Blake Belladonna hummed in acknowledgement, not trusting herself to really respond. The plan, apparently, was to lock her and Weiss in a room until they sorted out the remaining tension between them. Somehow.

"Can I give you one piece of advice, though?" Yang interrupted her train of thought, as she often did.

Blake nodded.

"Listen."

Now Blake blinked.

"She's…probably bad at this sort of thing, y'know?" Yang explained. "Probably hasn't had to give that many sincere apologies. Try not to make it even harder for her to do the right thing." Her partner's concern was…wonderful to Blake; even now unused to being cared about for anything more than her skills.

"Do you think she will?" Blake asked quietly, allowing herself to bare her worry.

Yang bit her lip. "I think think she'll _try_," she said at last, emphasizing the last word. "It'll be up to you to decide if she's really sincere, or just trying to placate us."

Swallowing, Blake realized they were outside their dorm. With Yang and Ruby intentionally clearing out, they would be assured of privacy. Yang had said they would be arriving first, but Blake still wasn't exactly eager to enter. Her choice on the matter was limited, however, when Yang held out a hand for Gambol Shroud and then gave her a little push to the small of her back, nudging her inside.

* * *

"I absolutely will not!" Weiss Schnee balked, trying to dig her heels in, but her team leader was not to be denied.

"You most definitely, absolutely, _will_!" retorted Ruby Rose, an uncharacteristically harsh expression on her usually-cheerful face as she all but dragged Weiss bodily down the hall toward their room.

"I will not give an apology when I've done nothing wr—" Weiss began to snarl, but froze in shock when Ruby rounded on her and poked her hard in the chest.

"Nothing wrong? _Nothing wrong_? Is _that_ what you were about to say, Weiss? You insulted your partner, her species, her beliefs, and her cause!"

Weiss tried to back away, but bumped into a wall, and Ruby continued to bear down on her despite being an inch shorter.

"You scared her off so she ran away for _days_, you _barely_ helped us look for her, and your only suggestion in twelve whole hours was to _call the damn police_." Ruby's face was now less than six inches from hers, and the repeated pokes were starting to become painful. "Then when we finally found her, in danger and barely defending herself against the very group _you_ were so eager to lump her in with, all you could manage to say was that 'you don't care'!" Ruby let out a frustrated breath. "Personally, I can deal with your behavior, because I understand what it's like to have a sheltering and overprotective parent, but I will not stand for you treating a member my team—_our_ team—like dirt, Weiss! You keep saying that you're different from your father; it's time to start proving it, Princess!"

"What do you mean?" Weiss asked, not entirely sure she'd kept the tremor out of her voice. Ruby was…intimidating like this. Not that she'd ever admit it.

"I mean, you can't claim to be your own person and then just blindly regurgitate _his_ bigoted opinions! You're supposed to be _soooo_ smart; maybe try **thinking for yourself for a change**!"

Ruby spun on her heel and marched away, no longer dragging Weiss but obviously expecting her to follow. Seeing little alternative, Weiss found herself doing so. She had rarely encountered that sort of rebuke from anyone, even her father. The help had scolded her once, when she was small and had broken a vase practicing her fencing, but now she thought back she had never seen that maid again. _Did Father fire her for telling me off? Even when I clearly deserved it?_

Weiss knew she had been sheltered, but had she really been _that_ sheltered? She barely registered that they were approaching their dorm room until she noticed Ruby stopped with her arms folded just past the door, which Yang held open for her. Taking a deep breath, Weiss drew herself up and marched in, trying to gather the fragments of her dignity.

* * *

"Think it'll work?" Yang asked Ruby softly, not as confident as she had appeared to Blake.

"It had better," Ruby said firmly. Her arms were still folded, but Yang noted her attempts not to shiver. She put an arm around her sister's shoulders as they both slid to the floor beside their door.

"Whatever comes of _that_," Yang tilted her head toward their room, "You did a good job today, little sister."

Ruby leaned into the hug. "Thanks, Yang."

* * *

Blake didn't look up immediately when the door opened, but footsteps prompted her to do so. She knew it was Weiss—the click of her heels tapping out her characteristically measured gait and the slightly scent of high-quality perfume were unmistakable, as good as a photo ID of her beautiful face to anyone who paid attention. Humans rarely did, Blake found. It seemed somewhat odd to her, but then, not everyone grew up outside the Kingdoms, in constant fear of attack.

Not everybody had grown up in the White Fang…and that was rather the point, wasn't it?

When the scent was strong enough to make her lick her lips, Blake looked up. Her heart sank when she took in Weiss' upright posture, with her chin high and shoulders back; a bearing that screamed defiance…until she took in the slight color in Weiss' cheeks, and the fact that her hands seemed to be trembling very slightly, not with anger, but with nerves.

Did that perhaps mean that the attitude wasn't solely because the meeting had been forced and Weiss didn't want to be here? Could she possibly have wanted to say something, to get…closer…but been too nervous?

Did Weiss _get_ nervous? Blake certainly was—her mouth was dryer than the leaves of Forever Fall, but now that she had looked up at her white-haired teammate, she was riveted, and couldn't look away.

* * *

Weiss, for her part, was doing her best to avoid eye contact, at least until she could sort her own thoughts out. Ruby had thrown her mind into a proper upheaval, and then immediately forced her in here with no time to prepare.

Ruby seemed to think that the two of them might hurt each other, and had even gone so far as to confiscate Myrtenaster while arranging this little meeting. Only the sight of Blake similarly disarmed saw her calming down slightly. Well, that and Ruby's blistering lecture, forcing her to look past the fact that her instincts were screaming that she wasn't _safe_ unarmed in the presence of a Faunus.

Weiss may not have appreciated Ruby's phrasing, exactly…but also couldn't really deny that the reaction was nonsense.

This was a Faunus, yes, but it was _Blake_; Blake who she had lived with, eaten with, sparred with and fought beside. Blake, who she had saved and been saved by, more times already than she could count. Blake, who she disagreed with frequently even on small things, but respected as an academic equal. Blake, whose frequent, impassioned defenses of Faunus rights and scathing indictments of the Company's labor practices were beginning to take on a terrible sort of poignancy in light of the revelation of what lay hidden under that little black bow.

The lights were off, the room dim with the oblique rays of the sinking sun, and the black-haired girl's eyes seemed to shine like lamps in the gloom. She couldn't make much out, but she thought Blake was biting her lip, obviously in anticipation. Weiss drew a shuddering breath, and Blake seemed to flinch very slightly.

"Our…esteemed leader…brought me here so that I could apologize," Weiss said carefully. No, that was no good, it sounded like she was only here because of Ruby; it damaged her apology before she could even make it. "I mean, I've been…struggling…with what to say and how, and she…decided that it would be best if we just talked. I don't mean to imply that she's the only reason I'm here."

Blake just blinked, her yellow eyes vanishing for an instant.

"I am coming to recognize certain…_biases_ that I was raised with; which I have sadly allowed to upset my capacity for reason. I believe I have reason to…" she paused to choose her next words with care. "…_disagree_ with the actions of the White Fang where my family and company are concerned. But to project that onto _all_ Faunus is just irrational."

Blake's eyes blinked again. She stood up in front of Weiss, but said nothing, which prompted Weiss to continue filling the silence.

"I'm not going to make excuses for the things I said or the way I've acted," she went on, wishing Blake would say _something_, but determined not to fail in getting her point across. "But I'm not completely lacking in self-awareness, either."

Blake was even closer now. Weiss had to look up to maintain eye contact. She licked her lips unconsciously.

"I am here, Blake Belladonna, to offer you a formal apology and a promise to change for the better. Not as the heiress to the Schnee Dust Company, but as your teammate. And, I hope, as your friend, still."

Blake was standing so close that Weiss could feel the taller girl's soft breath.

* * *

Blake could see Weiss clearly; could see plainly that every word had cost her as the tension in the room had mounted. She had heard Weiss' heartbeat; the rhythm steadily rising as Blake drew nearer, but never jumping in a way that would indicate she was lying. And she could see—could almost feel—the flush that now crept up the heiress' ivory cheeks.

Weiss had been genuine, against all odds. And now the tension between them was thick enough to cut with Gambol Shroud, if she had it. _As her teammate? As her friend? Yes, but…what about…_

Aware of Weiss' usual aversion to contact, Blake stopped where she was, not coming closer than she was despite how desperately she wanted to. Aware, too, that she had said nothing since Weiss had entered, Blake found herself whispering before Weiss could start babbling.

"This is a different you than usual, Weiss," Blake said, her voice huskier than usual. "A different side of you…" Blake shook her head. "More like…the sort of person I'd always hoped you might be, when I learned that the SDC's heiress was my age. Someone proud and strong and opinionated, yes, but willing to look beyond her ivory tower and actually _see_ the rest of us. The ordinary people, and the Faunus; everyone she was used to simply glancing over as an inconvenient part of the background."

Weiss was opening and closing her mouth, whether in shock or disbelief, Blake wasn't sure. She stared up at Blake, now blushing red enough to put Ruby's hood to shame.

Well, if that was all Blake was going to get, it was just as well they could get this awkwardness out of the way now, along with all the rest of it. Perhaps now they could get back to something like normality. She made to take a step back, but Weiss grabbed her wrists.

"That's how you hoped I'd be?" the smaller girl's voice was trembling. "Yet you still worked with me after you saw I was so much like my father? You should barely have tolerated me even then; you have every right to hate me now, after everything I said."

"How can I hate you when I've finally seen that you _can_ be who I'd hoped?"

Weiss' grip was almost tight enough to hurt. Blake twisted her wrists, wanting to get free, but Weiss held firm, so instead Blake sat back down on the bed, dragging Weiss with her. The heiress stumbled, but ended up sitting close beside her, just barely not touching.

"Ruby and Yang are sitting outside," Weiss hissed, face redder than ever.

A smirk curved Blake's mouth. "So let them think we're still arguing," she murmured. She brought her wrists together and slowly peeled Weiss' fingers off the wrist between them. Weiss sat there, still shivering, but let her do so. When her wrist was free though, rather than retract it, Blake laced her fingers through Weiss' and held her hand tight. Blake had promised to come to her teammates with her problems. Now Weiss had made a promise as well.

Weiss drew a sudden, shuddering breath, but released Blake's other arm. Then, after a long moment, she shifted on the bed so that they were actually touching—brushing shoulders and hips and legs. Her skin was cool to the touch. Blake felt a sudden urge to draw her even closer, to warm her up, but desisted. This wasn't a time to push boundaries—that would come. This, right now, was about the two of them coming closer…and sealing their new promise.

No more words were spoken, but Weiss' grip tightened all the same.

* * *

**A/N**: This, uh… Got long. Sorry? I guess I could have started when Weiss entered the room, but I thought the build-up with the sisters was important. (Since this was for a Monochrome request, the Tumblr response omits their section.) I'm still not very good at this whole one-shot thing, it seems. Anyway, this is one way that I think Monochrome could actually reasonably start, so that's what I decided to write this request about.

If it's not clear, I'm actually a huge fan of Weiss, but more of my headcanon than the way she's been presented in total thus far. To put it lightly, she's been a spoiled, sheltered, bigoted little brat, and the small improvements she's demonstrated are applauded a bit more than they deserve while little attention is drawn to the gulf she still needs to cross. Personally, though, I think she's capable of crossing it and becoming a better person entirely, and I think she really only needs a little nudge in the right place at the right time. She'd still be Weiss—proud, confident, strong, dispassionate—but not arrogant, brash, or aloof. Weiss is (appropriately enough) like the snow: it's harsh if you're unprepared, but it also provides insulation for the seeds of Spring (and blah blah blah, you've heard that metaphor a million times before).

Blake, on the other hand, is…troublesome. She's also calm and confident, or at least projects so, but there's definitely a fire underlying it that's very different from Weiss. She tries to be very tightly controlled, but there's undeniably a more playful side to her that she tends to hide. Beyond that, though, when her composure is ruffled, she tends to lose her cool and have trouble regaining it, to the point of obsessing over perceived injustices, but yet still somehow has her confidence shaken by simple questions. Blake is like black iron (also appropriately enough): she's hard, but she's also brittle, and like all the girls, needs more tempering to find a real balance and her true strength. Overall, I find Blake very difficult to write (and I understand I'm not the only one.)


	14. Not Quite A Wish Come True

**Note**: For a Tumblr request.

**Request**: Weiss Schnee/Jaune Arc (Weissgold), this post: http (colon slash slash) (slash) bcdBU3  
(Warning for swearing on the source; story is clean).

* * *

Not Quite A Wish Come True

**Summary**: Jaune reflects on his actions, and decides to apologize. Weiss, unnervingly, also has something to say.

* * *

Jaune's knees were beginning to ache from their prolonged contact with the floor, but he remained motionless, Weiss' scathing retort ringing in his ears. The obscenity—so rare dropping from her lips—burned all the more shameful for its apparent necessity. And he _had_ deserved it. It was harsh maybe…but this was, what, the dozenth time he had asked her out? Well, this time he hadn't got as far as the asking, but a confession still had to count as an instance. The truth was, he had honestly lost count of how many times he had been shot down, and that…wasn't right.

Maybe it wasn't fair for Weiss to assume he was only interested in her family name—_he hadn't even put together that she was from the same Schnee family as the famous company!_—but it also wasn't fair of him to make her tell him 'no' as often as she had to.

Ruby was talking, shaking his shoulder, but Jaune wasn't listening. He brushed her off, got to his feet, and waved her after Weiss, who had stalked away, plainly furious. Ruby dashed in front of him as he, too, turned away, but he just ruffled her hair and gave her a little push again to follow her partner. He had a feeling she was watching him go, but he didn't care. He didn't need comforting, he needed time to think, which meant he needed to avoid his teammates. Nora would try to cheer him up, and Ren was never far from her. Pyrrha had a habit of quietly implying that he could do no wrong, and it was perfectly plain to him that he was _absolutely_ in the wrong, here.

Knowing that Nora would be accompanying Ren to class even though she had a free period, and that Pyrrha was in the library, Jaune headed up to their usual rooftop spot, not caring that he would likely be wasting his own free period staring into space. He sat down on the edge of the roof, kicking his feet and staring out toward the horizon over the sea.

"Awww… What's got you down, Jaune-y boy?" came a mocking voice from the window below.

"Cram it, Winchester, I'm not in the mood," Jaune snapped. There was a moment's silence, then a scoff, and the window slammed shut.

* * *

Jaune remained where he was for hours, until the sun began to creep toward the horizon. Pyrrha would know where to find him if he didn't show up for dinner, and he still didn't need her comfort or pity. He needed…to man up and apologize to Weiss. And stop asking her out, of course, but that went without saying.

Sliding back carefully from the edge of the roof, Jaune climbed to his feet and headed for the door. When he opened it, he was shocked to find Weiss just passing by. The look she gave him was frigid, and he almost kept his mouth shut, but he forced his jaw to work.

"Weiss!"

She didn't even stop.

"May I…please speak with you privately, for a moment?"

Now she paused, but did not look back at him. She made no motion to go anywhere more secluded, or sign that she was willing to do so. He had been hoping not to do this in a hallway, but if this was the best he was going to get… Hell, this morning had been in a hallway, so maybe it was fitting. All that was missing was Ruby gasping in the background.

Even though Weiss was still facing the other way, Jaune got back on his knees. "Weiss, I owe you an apology."

No answer.

"More than one, really," Jaune went on, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. "I've been more than pushing my luck for months now, and…well…looking back I'm kinda disgusted with _myself_."

Still no reply.

"I've been…well, 'persistent' is an understatement, and almost sounds like a compliment, but I don't know any better word. 'Obnoxious'? 'Entitled', maybe? I actually don't feel like I'm entitled to a date or anything with you, but I guess that _is_ how I've been acting…" He heaved a sigh, but went on, "What I'm trying to say is, I want you to know that the reason for all this is that I really think the world of you, but I've finally realized that…that my actions have been reprehensible!" he finished, as forcefully as he could.

"That's all I had to say," he added, swallowing hard against the lump in his throat.

There, he had done it; he had told her he was sorry without her interrupting or walking away. She would go now, and that was okay. He couldn't very well argue that he deserved the dignity of a response. Sure enough, after a moment, he heard Weiss' heels begin clicking against the floor again as she walked…but they seemed to be getting closer. Suddenly, those same heeled boots came to a stop directly on the section of floor that he was staring at.

"Jaune," her voice was as stiff as her posture, as though she was forcing each word through clenched teeth. "I believe…that I also owe you an apology for how I spoke to you today. My words were harsher than was called for, and I should not have let my temper get away from me."

Jaune got to his feet, looking at Weiss incredulously. She was refusing to meet his eye, plainly afraid that making her apology would cause Jaune to revert to form. He wasn't about to do that.

Instead, he mentally cleared the board. He extended a hand. "Hi. I'm Jaune. It's nice to meet you."

Weiss stared at his hand for a moment, before taking it gracefully. "Hello," she said finally. "I am Weiss Schnee. Pleased to make your acquaintance."

Jaune gave a small smile, which he thought was returned, though it was so fleeting from Weiss that he couldn't be sure. "Well, I've got to get going," he said. "My team will come nagging if I miss dinner. Glad to meet you!" He was already turning the corner, waving behind him.

It wasn't, perhaps, what he had wished for… But in the end, a second chance was better than he had dared to hope. He had to resist an urge to skip as he made his way toward the dining hall.

* * *

**A/N**: Sorry if this isn't exactly a whirlwind romance, but honestly, look at what I had to work with. I took this on knowing it would be challenging, so I did the best I could with it. I really do like this particular ship (I've written my own take on it for RWBY Relationship Week), but they have enough obstacles in their way without having to overcome the likes of _that_. To the requesting Anon: if you want another stab at Weissgold, feel free to drop another request and I'll try to compose something a little more satisfying.


	15. The Best Prize

**A/N**: For a Tumblr request.

**Request**: Ruby Rose/Penny (Nuts and Dolts), "a date at an amusement park with hilarious consequences".

* * *

The Best Prize

**Summary**: Penny is very good at ring toss. Very, _very_ good.

* * *

"It's easy, Penny," Ruby said, handing some lien to the man at the booth and helping herself to a set of rings. She passed them to Penny, then pointed to a couple of tourists demonstrating the game. "You toss the rings like that, and try to catch one around the neck of one of the bottles." The ring she had tossed clattered against the glass, but fell down into the retrieval tray without catching.

There were at least two hundred bottles within the booth, with perhaps eight feet separating the outermost row of bottles from where the players were permitted to stand.

Penny blinked, her bright green eyes reflecting puzzlement. "But why?"

"It's a game, Penny," Ruby explained patiently. "If you get a ringer, you get a prize." She indicated the stuffed animals displayed around the booth. There were no Beowolves, unfortunately, but there was a stuffed Ursa in the corner that Ruby had an eye on. It would make a great birthday present for Yang! The example Penny was watching suddenly threw a ringer—the Mistrali tourist winning a big stuffed animal for her cheering Atlesian girlfriend. She passed the prize to her blushing date with a quick kiss.

"A game?" Penny repeated, eyes widening. She drew a breath, and then exclaimed, "Sen-_sa_tional! I love games! Thank you for teaching me this one, Ruby!" Penny threw her arms around Ruby, squeezing tight enough that Ruby felt her ribs creak.

"Urghh… You're welcome…" she gasped, and Penny released her.

"Oh! I'm sorry, Ruby my friend!" Penny apologized hurriedly. "I always forget, and hug you too hard, when I get that feeling."

"What feeling?" Ruby asked, curiously. Her gynoid friend often managed to both fluster and confuse her, by being open and honest but lacking the words to adequately describe emotions and sensations that humans took for granted.

"I'm not sure…" Penny said predictably. She laid a hand over her chest. "It seems to originate here, near my coolant pump. Is that normal?" In the strictest sense, Penny was far younger than Ruby, and had always been intensely curious.

"I think it is," Ruby reassured her circumspectly, trying to control the sudden pounding of her own heart.

"What do you think it could be?" Penny asked, her eyes seeming to sparkle in the late afternoon light.

Penny was wearing her usual white jumper and grey dress, with the tall stockings that only served to draw attention to the tiny strip of leg between themselves and the dress' hem. The skirt fluttered a little as Penny bounced on the spot, plainly excited about the new game.

_She's so cute._ Ruby felt a blush creeping up her cheeks. Then, _Where did that thought come from?_ But there was no denying it: Penny had her flustered. Ruby had never been able to hide when she was embarrassed, and that meant it was probably only a matter of time before Penny asked…

"Is something wrong, Ruby?"

"Nope!" Ruby chirped, praying her voice was steady. "Ready to play?" she added, hoping to redirect Penny's attention until she could control the flush in her cheeks or at least stop her mouth from forming that goofy grin _oh Dust it was happening why couldn't she stop_.

Fortunately, Penny had turned back to the booth, and therefore noticed neither Ruby's internal quandary, nor the knowing smile on the face of the booth's proprietor. Ruby shot the man her best glare, but she had never been able to appear intimidating like her sister, and his grin only widened. That was, until Penny threw her rings.

All of them.

Every single one looped around the neck of a bottle, hardly rattling or spinning before they settled, leaving proprietor's jaw was hanging open, along with the other couple at the booth and everyone else who had been passing by.

Penny looked back around at Ruby. "How was that?" From anyone else the question would have been smug, but there was nothing but honest inquiry in Penny's voice.

"Very good!" Ruby cheered, giving in a little follow what her heart was telling her she apparently _really_ wanted to do and throwing her arms around Penny. "You can pick any prize you want!"

"Prize?" Penny repeated slowly. "Okay!" She pointed to the giant Ursa Ruby had been eyeing earlier, which the proprietor retrieved, still chuckling to himself. Penny immediately pressed the toy into Ruby's hands, then before Ruby could react, Penny suddenly leaned down and kissed her. Ruby froze comically in place as Penny turned to the game once more. "That was very fun!" she exclaimed. "I think I'd like to play again!"

Ruby's mind had gone completely blank, utterly failing to provide her with any explanation for what had just happened. Automatically, she fumbled absently for her wallet to pay for another game, but the proprietor waved away her lien with a cheshire grin.

Penny tilted her head, studying the bottles and then the rings in her hands, before once again flinging the entire handful for perfect ringers. She turned back to Ruby, clapping her hands excitedly, but paused at seeing Ruby still reeling from the kiss. "Ruby? Is something the matter?"

"I… You…" Ruby stammered.

Penny leaned forward, and Ruby's mind—just beginning to catch up—abruptly shut down again. Was Penny going to kiss her again? Why had she kissed her before? It was completely out of nowhere. They were friends! Dust, Penny was a _robot_. Well, she was still a person, but she was also like a weapon, which was super-rad and awesome and Ruby really wanted to know how that worked exactly, but it seemed rude and way too personal to just ask, but was it _too_ personal since Penny had kissed her, and why didn't it exactly bother her more that Penny had kissed her?

Penny's forehead bumped against hers, and Ruby jumped. "Your face is all red, Ruby," Penny said, sounding concerned. "And your temperature is elevated."

_And your proximity is not helping_, Ruby thought frantically. _She's right in my face and how can she even take my temperature like that and gosh she has pretty eyes. …Wait—!_

"Really, I'm fine, Penny," Ruby managed finally. She gestured at the bottles behind the now-chuckling proprietor. "You won again."

"Yes! And that means I win another prize!" Penny said excitedly. "I sure did enjoy the last prize." The line demanded a coy tone, but Penny, of course, delivered it completely naturally. Flustered all over again, Ruby sputtered.

"R-right…" she mumbled.

Penny smiled, completely undeterred. "What prize should I pick this time, then?" Ruby's barely-recovered train of thought derailed yet again.

In the end, they walked away with not just the Ursa but also an equally-enormous Nevermore. Penny managed to loop one arm through Ruby's as she held the bird with the other. "Come on, then, Ruby!" Blushing madly again, Ruby found herself being dragged away from the openly laughing proprietor, who was eagerly collecting lien from the large crowd that had suddenly gathered around his booth.

* * *

**A/N**: My original idea was that fish-catching game that you see in anime, with the little paper nets, but I've never actually seen that at any fair or carnival that I've ever been to. (Silly American writer, tsk tsk.) Also, funny though the image of Penny flipping fish after fish into a bucket was, I just didn't really know where to go from there. I guess they'd have to go buy a big aquarium? Having to deal with countless giant stuffies seemed to fit better.

'Gynoid' is the proper term for a robot (or anything else, technically) that resembles a human female. (Thanks, _Mahou Sensei Negima!_)

I'm sorry this isn't very good. I need to get back into the swing of things. Head over to .com to drop me some new requests!


	16. Under No Illusions

**Note**: For a Tumblr request.

**Request**: Cinder Fall/Neopolitan (Spicecream), "nice [&amp;] fluffy"

* * *

Under No Illusions

**Summary**: Neo interrupts Cinder trying to get some work done, but Cinder doesn't mind…

* * *

Cinder glanced up sharply as the door opened, then shut—she had given _strict_ orders that she was not to be disturbed—but it was only Neo. The petite illusionist, unlike just about everybody else Cinder employed, was free to come and go as she pleased…not least because nobody except Cinder could actually stop her. Cinder herself wasn't sure which, if either, of them would win if they truly fought, but the issue had never arisen. While admittedly…distracting…Neo would not be termed a 'disturbance'. Or at all unwelcome.

Cinder returned her attention at once to the Scroll she was working on, apparently paying Neo no more thought until a pair of small, cool hands settled on her shoulders, beginning to massage away the aches and accumulated tension of the day. As ever, Cinder felt her eyelids drooping and back slumping after only a few minutes' work.

"You really _must_ tell me how you do that," she purred, leaning back to look up at the tricolor girl behind her.

Neo just gave a pixie grin, dextrous little fingers digging into every aching knot of Cinder's shoulders, brushing her long, dark hair aside, fingertips slipping occasionally just below the neck of Cinder's usual off-the-shoulder dress.

The third time this happened, Cinder gave her a slap on the wrist—gentle, truly—but Neo only smirked and levered Cinder forward so as to reach her back. Cinder allowed herself to be pushed, leaning her elbows on the desk as Neo knuckled down her spine. She let out a soft noise of appreciation as a vertebra popped, a pleasurable tingle running up her spine at the sudden absence of that tension.

Cinder abruptly spun the chair around to face Neo, leaving the other suddenly off-balance. Cinder caught her slender waist as she fell, and Neo climbed instantly onto Cinder's lap. Cinder stroked Neo's cheek, and saw as usual mischief warring with genuine affection in Neo's mismatched eyes.

"How _did_ it come to this, Miss Neopolitan?" Cinder murmured.

Neo shrugged expressively, wrapping her arms around Cinder in turn, lacing slim fingers at the back of Cinder's neck. She was so small that even seated on Cinder's lap, their faces were on a level.

Cinder drew a nail down Neo's bare neck, hard enough to leave a raised mark, and Neo shivered. "So you came in here to distract me from my work?" Cinder asked, playfully feigning anger. "After I gave specific orders that I was not to be interrupted?"

Neo grinned, knowing how it really was. She removed her hands from Cinder's neck to hold them up between them, wrists together as though bound.

"Mmm…" Cinder hummed, tapping her finger against the pulse point at Neo's throat. "Punish you? Whyever would I want to do that?"

Neo blinked, still grinning. Her eyes switched colors—the brown becoming pink, pink becoming white—and she tilted her head playfully.

"I'm _sure_ you couldn't have had any unseemly intentions," Cinder added, a little huskily. "You only wanted to help me relax, isn't that right?"

Neo leaned forward to nuzzle at Cinder's neck, pressing light kisses down toward her shoulder, until suddenly—though not unexpectedly—her tiny teeth suddenly scraped against the older woman's collarbone. She glanced up, eyes laughing, and Cinder knew from the reflection that her own eyes were glowing.

"On second thought," she whispered silkily, hands moving to the narrow bands of skin left bare on either hip by Neo's corset, "Perhaps you _do_ need to be punished…"

* * *

**A/N**: If it isn't clear, I personally ascribe to the theory that Neo is mute. But even if that's not your vial of Dust, you still have to admit that she clearly doesn't say much in canon, so an alternate read is that she just prefers to communicate nonverbally. I hope this was fluffy enough to fulfill the request!

If you liked what you saw, why not head over to our askbox to drop me a request?


	17. Fear Of What's Inside

**A/N**: For a Tumblr request, from .com

**Request**: Weiss Schnee/Blake Belladonna (Monochrome), sequel to "Promises". (Request by Anon).

* * *

Fear Of What's Inside

**Summary**: Blake wants to… But Weiss is unaccountably nervous.

* * *

"But I'd really like–"

"Absolutely not!"

"Please?"

Weiss glared at Blake, arms crossed and face flushed, but Blake knew that silence.

That was the pause before Weiss gave in—the token hesitation before she went along with whatever she had been resisting out of truculency alone. She had seen it when Ruby pouted her way out of a long study session to tune up Crescent Rose, and when Yang had stampeded over Weiss' objections in order to hit the town alone tonight. Weiss was so used to being defensive that she basically disagreed with every suggestion made to her on principle, and would only actually consider it if pressed.

Now the two of them were alone, and she had put her girlfriend on the spot with a request that she hadn't thought was unreasonable. Saying 'please' was the final straw, and now Blake could see her wavering. It made her feel suddenly and unaccountably guilty.

"Why not?" Blake said softly, before Weiss could make up her mind.

Weiss' mouth set in a hard line—she would deny it, but it was unmistakably a pout. She wasn't as effective with it as Ruby, but her beautiful alabaster skin lent her a radiant beauty that still took Blake's breath away. Weiss didn't have to pout to make Blake want to spoil her. _Even if she's spoiled enough already_, Blake thought, fondly.

She moved across the room, reaching for Weiss' hand, making sure the heiress saw her coming. "Why do you always get so…hesitant?" Their fingers intertwined. She squeezed gently, and Weiss returned the pressure.

"We've been teammates for over a year," Blake continued. "And we've been together for months. And this will be the first time…"

Weiss, cheeks now flaming red, cut across her in a hiss. "Do you even realize what Yang would think if she heard you say that?"

Mentally reviewing her phrasing, Blake suddenly burst out laughing. _Yang would think it sounded like I was propositioning her._ Weiss began trying to free her hand, but Blake wouldn't have it. She pulled instead, and Weiss overbalanced, falling against her. Blake brought her other hand to Weiss' waist. "And what would be the problem with that?" she asked smokily.

Weiss, startled at their abrupt closeness, gaped like a fish before blushing redder than before. She tried to pull away, but Blake tilted her chin up into a searing kiss. After a moment's halfhearted struggle, Blake's snow angel melted against her. When their lips finally broke apart, she allowed Weiss to step back. Blake herself sat on the edge of Weiss' bed, so that only their hands were touching once more.

"Why don't you like to sing for us?" Blake asked again, staring at the tilted canopy made by Ruby's bed. "We've all heard that recording Jaune had. Even Pyrrha had to admit you were amazing."

Weiss had sung as the soprano goddess of love and beauty in the famous opera _The River's Gold_. Blake, not raised to opera as Weiss had been, but intimately familiar with the original myths that had spawned the story, was left breathless by the brightness and clarity of her voice, the way it seemed to trill effortlessly higher and still higher, a quality Weiss had later told her was called _spinto_. Blake wasn't sure of the translation and didn't care; all she knew was that her girlfriend had an amazing singing voice, and couldn't help wondering why she had never heard it.

Weiss was grumbling imprecations about Jaune and his recordings, facing half-away and pointedly not answering Blake's question.

"Weiss…" Blake began, then… "You know you don't actually have to."

Weiss shut her eyes, free hand drifting up to the scar that crossed her left eyelid and curved down her cheek. Blake didn't know what had caused the scar; had never asked or been told. It was clearly something very personal, considering how Weiss had snapped at people who were bold enough to ask…and the more so considering that she was rich enough to afford any amount of cosmetic surgery if she had wanted it removed. Of course, Blake didn't like talking about her own scars, if she could help it, and Weiss had likewise never pressed.

She squeezed Weiss' hand again, grateful simply to have found someone she could love, no matter how many times Ruby called them "star-crossed". The two of them had discussed their feelings in-depth, during one of the few quiet moments they could find, living with the noisy sisters. Neither of them was ready to share all their secrets, but they had agreed that both of them needed to be more open with their internal fears and worries.

Weiss' grip on her hand tightened abruptly, as though she was afraid of suddenly being yanked apart. "I promised myself not to," Weiss whispered finally, her back suddenly ramrod-straight.

"Why?" Blake asked, wanting nothing more than to touch Weiss' face, to run her fingers through the other girl's long, beautiful hair. She wouldn't, though, while Weiss' eyes were closed.

"Not until the song I composed wasn't true anymore." Weiss' words were so soft, Blake wasn't sure she had been meant to hear, but humans always underestimated Faunus' ears. Or, perhaps Weiss was truly speaking for her ears only.

"You composed a song yourself?" Blake asked. She still spoke quietly. Loud voices felt like they might shatter the extremely personal atmosphere.

Eyes still closed, Weiss drew a deep breath and began to softly sing _senza compagni_. Blake froze, listening to every word, as Weiss poured her heart into a song that poured it right back out. Every note was pitch-perfect, and every word pierced her heart. The song wasn't very long, and ended on a line that was lyrically perfect, and utterly heartbreaking.

"It's not true anymore," Blake whispered fiercely, suddenly on her feet and desperately holding back tears. "You have us. You have me. We love you." Her voice cracked. "I love you."

Weiss opened her eyes at last, and she pulled Blake into a hug. The heiress' slender fingers threaded their way through Blake's thick black mane of hair, ghosting lightly over her Faunus ears. Blake buried her face in Weiss' neck, giving up trying to express everything she felt in favor of just holding her girlfriend as tightly as she could.

"I know," Weiss whispered back. "I love you, too."

* * *

**A/N**: If it's not clear, Weiss is singing "Mirror, Mirror", her theme song from the White Trailer. (I don't like reproducing lyrics within the story; the gist is that Weiss asks the magic mirror "Who's the loneliest of all?", all along knowing that it's herself.) The whole point is that the song clearly refers to how she was before arriving at Beacon. Everything is different—_she_ is different—now that she has Ruby, and Yang, and especially Blake.

I spend way too much time researching classical music and opera when I'm trying to write Weiss. Too often, I have to stop and find a way to phrase something in a way that makes sense for the world of RWBY. For instance, _senza compagni_ (Italian for 'without company') would in the real world probably just be termed _a capella_, but we see no evidence that there are chapels about wherein unaccompanied singing might be considered a norm. Similarly, can you spot the not-very-clever opera reference?

Hopefully this is nice and fluffy for fans of that, and a demonstration that I _am_ capable of writing these two further down the line than their necessary apology.


	18. Sloths At The Festival

**A/N**: For a Tumblr request submitted to rwbyships on tumblr.

**Request**: Nora Valkyrie/Lie Ren (Renora) "friend-fluff at the Carnival". (Request by topographical-curves on tumblr)

* * *

Sloths At The Festival

**Summary**: Anyone taking a guess would say that Nora had dragged Ren to the Vytal Festival. And they would be right, but that didn't mean he was reluctant.

_Note: Remember in my story __Hopeful Romantic__ how I mentioned Ren and Nora at the Festival too? No? Well I did, and here they are._

* * *

Most people woke up to an alarm clock, or a similar alarm on their Scroll. Others had a seemingly faultless internal clock that let them awaken on time. Still others were woken by family, friends, or loved ones.

By himself, Lie Ren fell into the second category…but he hadn't woken up alone in over a year.

"Wake up, lazy butt!"

Nora. His own personal—and very noisy—alarm clock. Magenta eyes cracked, then widened suddenly as one hundred thirty-five pounds hit him all at once.

"Oof-"

"C'monnnnn," Nora sat on his stomach, prodding at his cheek. "Get upppp. I made you coffee and everything. The sun's been up for an hour and I wanna get back down to the Festival. We haven't seen the animals yet. Oh! Do you think there'll be llamas?"

"Nora, if the sun had been up for an hour, I would have woken up on my own," Ren corrected her gently.

The next poke was right on his nose. "Boop."

Ren pinched his nose in apparent irritation, but even he felt the smile pulling at the corners of his lips.

Nora slid back as he sat up, but didn't get off him, instead settling herself comfortably in his lap as she handed him the coffee she had promised. Ren didn't bother to sniff or sip at it, instead taking an ordinary, measured gulp. Nora knew well enough by now how he took it. Still positively bouncing with enthusiasm at the potential for llamas, Nora was holding a muffin for him as well, though she still didn't move.

"It's rather difficult to get ready with you sitting on me," Ren observed.

Nora shrugged. "You're not done with breakfast yet, so I don't need to get up. Want me to brush your hair?"

Ren nodded, and Nora leaned past him to grab the hairbrush off their bedside table, reached behind him to pull out his hair tie, and began brushing away, all without ever leaving his lap. There was a comfortable silence in the old routine, and even Jaune didn't comment on it anymore. Ren supposed it might be considered odd for a boy and girl of their age to be so close, considering they were not '_together_-together', but Ren had never known anything else. It was just their way.

The first months at Beacon had been slightly awkward—the two of them were no strangers to bunking, but Pyrrha and Jaune were new additions. After several months, though, they were comfortable enough around the others—and perhaps more to the point, Nora had broken her assigned bed jumping on it too much—that they simply begun sharing without anyone batting an eye. Well, Yang across the hall had batted several, but they all knew she didn't mean anything by it.

Stifling a final yawn, Ren leaned forward so that Nora could re-clasp his hair into its usual tail. This done, he placed his hands on her hips and channelled enough Aura to let him lift her off of him. He only shifted her to the side, though, setting her down and swinging his legs out of their bed so he could get ready.

* * *

The Vytal Festival was coming to a close at last. The Tourney was finished, the vendors aggressively hawking their final-day sales, the rides on the midway with lines dozens long as residents and tourists alike hoping for a final bit of fun before the next Festival. Still, it was not nearly as packed as on opening day, when it seemed that quite literally everyone and their mother had come out. As it was, there was still quite a crowd, however, and Ren was as grateful as ever for Nora's ebullient presence, which always seemed to part the masses fairly easily.

Ren was quiet by nature, and undoubtedly an introvert, but it would be inaccurate to call him _shy_. A shy person would never have been able to stand Nora's constant chatter and invasions of personal space, no matter how long they'd known her. It was, he knew, part of why she valued him so highly—why they had been best friends for so many years.

Her enthusiasm had run off other playmates for years, her parents had confided to his one time, years ago, when they thought he and Nora weren't listening. Then again, they never realized that Nora was quite sneaky, and rather adept at going unnoticed when she wanted to. She just usually didn't feel the need. She had declared early on that she wanted to be a mighty Huntress, and even if Ren hadn't planned to become a Huntsman anyway, he would have followed her through combat school. His magenta eyes and quiet demeanor had also left Ren without many friends as a child, until this pink-clad firework rocketed into his life and never left.

Ren was pulled from his musings as Nora seized his hand and began dragging him toward the petting zoo. He allowed it, though he raised an eyebrow when she glanced back.

"You were lagging behind!" she giggled, tugging harder.

No, he hadn't been, but it was another old excuse for them to hold hands, a relic of the times when they were made fun of for it as kids. It didn't make a lot of sense to Ren, but then, most quote-unquote 'normal' interactions between other people didn't seem to. He had seen pairs of self-professed 'best friends' who seemed shy or downright scared to so much as brush shoulders; seen them at each other's throats mere months later. He just didn't get it. What sort of 'best friends' were those? Schoolyard insults or no, Ren would much rather have what he had with Nora—an understanding that went beyond words, a knowledge that whatever jokes they may have about being (or not being) '_together_-together', they were still undeniably _together_.

Frankly, it was probably just as well that the sentiment was unspoken. He had a feeling that Nora's squeals would shatter glass for miles around if he ever tried to put the understanding he felt into words.

"Nora," he said, and she paused, looking back. Ren tilted his head at the tent beside them. "There are animals in this one."

Nora's eyes rose to the sign, which she had clearly not read. _Exotic Menagerie Menagerie_. Ren gave her hand a pull of his own, and she stumbled. He smirked at the pout she gave him as they went in.

Nora gave a huge, dramatic gasp almost at once, and Ren instinctively reinforced his fingers with Aura an instant before Nora crushed them in excitement. "Ren!" she breathed. "They have a capybara!"

"I noticed," he said. Capybaras were easily Nora's second-favorite animal, coming in just above llamas and just below sloths. While llamas weren't uncommon on Vytal, at least nearer to Vacuo, it was the first time either of them had seen more than a picture of a capybara, and the pressure Nora was exerting on Ren's hand told him that the giant rodent had lived up to her expectations.

He stepped forward, and the animal shuffled over to him, sniffing curiously. It was tied to a post by a harness around its chest, which he supposed was kinder than leaving it in a cage, and there were piles of grasses around that must have been its food. He knelt, scooped some up, and passed it to Nora. She held it out, and the oversized cavy waddled up to eat from her hand. Nora was clearly doing her best to muffle her squeaks of delight, but the capybara kept looking up at her curiously.

In the end, Ren had to drag Nora away, knowing that she would stay in the Menagerie Menagerie all day if left to her own devices, but equally certain that she would be upset at not seeing any other animals. No sooner had he stepped outside, though, than Nora suddenly released his hand. Before he could even look around, though, she had leaped up onto his back, wrapping her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist.

"You know, you could always just _ask_ for a piggyback ride," he told her, once he had regained his balance.

Nora giggled, and squeezed for a moment with her legs, prompting him to support them with his arms. "Why is it called a piggyback ride?" she wondered aloud, not dignifying his comment with a response. She leaned her head on his shoulder and mumbled. "I feel more like a sloth."

Ren's lips twitched. "A slothback ride, then," he agreed. "Where do you want to go next?"

Nora raised an arm slowly, and pointed with three curved fingers, like a sloth's claws. "Bhhrrrra…"

Ren set off at once in the indicated direction.

"I _still_ don't think that's what a sloth sounds like."

* * *

**A/N**: Well look who's finally back. Have a great big pile of my Team Sloth headcanon. Yes, they totally share a bed and hold hands and brush each other's hair and sit on each other's laps and it's still platonic and beautiful and perfect. Why not? Why a capybara? Again, why not!? Capybaras are awesome and you won't convince me that Nora wouldn't love them. Final scene comes from a piece of fanart that I've seen somewhere.


	19. Grace Under Pressure

**A/N**: For a Tumblr request submitted to rwbyships on tumblr.

**Request**: Weiss Schnee/Pyrrha Nikos (Schneekos), "Pyrrha gets kidnapped; super angsty". (Request by Anon).

* * *

Grace Under Pressure

**Summary**: Weiss and Pyrrha go out for a night on the town, which promptly goes horribly wrong.

_Note: I'll drop some warnings here: This story includes underage drinking, drink spiking, kidnapping, a little bit of blood, and a lot of Rooster Teeth references._

* * *

"For the love of Dust, would you just kiss the boy already?" Weiss groused as she and Pyrrha cleaned up in the locker room after Combat class. "He's getting more persistent asking me out and it's more annoying than Ruby on a sugar rush."

Pyrrha gave a tiny sigh. "I've told you, I'm not interested in Jaune that way anymore," she explained patiently, adding silently, _And I can't tell you who I'd like to kiss…_

"Well _I_ never was!" Weiss shot back, pulling on her school blazer, and Pyrrha rather had to concede the point. Weiss had never been ambiguous that she wasn't interested in Jaune. Indeed, other than a brief fling with Neptune, she hadn't shown any indication that she leaned toward guys at all. Then again, said 'fling' had mostly involved shopping, as Pyrrha recalled. And clubbing, despite the boy's utter lack of rhythm. Perhaps Neptune was gay…?

"Weiss…" she began, but she hesitated. Was it too personal a question? Pyrrha wasn't close to Neptune; it might not be appropriate to inquire. "I'll talk to Jaune," she promised instead, and Weiss heaved a grateful, if put-upon, sigh.

They finished dressing and began to make for the dining hall, and if Pyrrha wanted to imagine that Weiss was walking a little closer to her than was strictly necessary, that was nobody else's business as long as she kept the blush from her cheeks.

* * *

No sooner had she and Pyrrha sat down to eat, than they were accosted by none other than Jaune.

"Heyyyy, Weiss!"

She made no effort to hide her exasperated sigh, but answered as politely as she could, "Hello, Jaune."

To her frustration, he immediately took a seat, though she supposed she ought to be grateful he had sat down beside Pyrrha across the table, instead of right next to her. This assuredly had nothing to do with the fact that _she_ wished she was sitting that closely and comfortably with Pyrrha. Not at all.

"So uh, I was wondering," Jaune said, setting down his tray and buffing his fingernails on his collar. "Would you like to head down to the city for a night on the town, courtesy of _moi_?" He slipped into a preposterous Old Valean accent for the final syllable.

Weiss rolled her eyes. In a way, she was grateful he had derailed her rather depressing train of thought—because of him, after all, she unfortunately _knew_ Pyrrha was interested in men—but dealing with Jaune was always a headache.

"I have plans tonight, Jaune," she said diplomatically, if firmly. Before he could open his mouth, she continued, addressing Pyrrha. "I had meant to invite you, Pyrrha, to join Coco and I this evening."

Those familiar with Weiss' temper would be nervous at this point—she never spoke quite so formally anymore unless it was to bury her emotions—but Jaune didn't seem able to recognize the danger signs. He deflated, visibly pouting, no doubt hoping she would change her mind at seeing him downcast. _Hmph, as if._

"Erm, that sounds lovely, Weiss," Pyrrha dithered, for some reason looking a little red in the face. She looked about to say more, but at that moment, Coco swept up behind Weiss.

"Did I hear we have another guest?" she cut in, brightly. Without waiting for any response, she plowed on. "_Ex_cellent; have her meet us at eight, darling," she told Weiss, bending to kiss her cheek. "'Ta!" And like that, she dashed away like a cheetah on the plains; typical Coco.

Jaune stared after her, looking gobsmacked. He looked back around slowly at Weiss. "I…um. Are you two, uh…?"

Weiss paused. This…was an excellent opportunity! Perhaps she could finally encourage Jaune to back off. "Oh, didn't you know?" she said, giving Jaune her trademark frozen smile. His jaw worked up and down for another moment, as though chewing his tongue, before he got to his feet with a hasty excuse and left.

* * *

Pyrrha felt empty.

Weiss and Coco…were an item? Part of her was hoping Weiss would recant her words, explain that it was merely a gambit to get rid of Jaune, but Weiss went right back to making plans for that evening. Any excitement on her friend's behalf that she was seeing someone—or that she was openly with another woman, given Atlas' rather old-fashioned sensibilities—was drowned in the despair that the person couldn't be _her_.

She'd felt drawn to Weiss from the moment she saw the girl in the locker rooms, the day of the first task. She's answered politely when Weiss asked about teams, of course, and she'd admittedly been interested in working with Jaune at the time, but having Weiss as a teammate would have worked out well. Here, Pyrrha had thought, was someone that perhaps she could open up to; someone who knew the weight of crushing expectations, and understood that even successfully meeting them brought no relief because it was merely expected. Someone, she believed, who knew what it meant to walk alone in a crowd. The appeal had only grown as time passed, especially as her initial attraction to Jaune had faded into sisterly affection.

Pyrrha wanted nothing more than to hide in her dorm room and bury her face in a pillow, or perhaps head to a training room to lose herself in physical activity, but she had already agreed to accompany the couple tonight, and Weiss seemed genuinely excited to have her along. Normally she would be thrilled at that, but now she could barely muster a smile as she agreed to meet at the airship dock a few minutes before eight.

They split up to head for different classes after lunch, and Pyrrha thought that every step felt leaden. She didn't know if it was depression or a premonition, but she felt a great sense of foreboding about tonight.

* * *

Jaune headed blindly for the library, not really paying attention to where his feet were taking him, only knowing that he was seeking somewhere quiet. He would bury his nose in a comic, not to read it, but so that no one would bother him as he tried to work out exactly what had gone wrong. Weiss was a lesbian? Well, that explained her absolute refusal to go out with him. But then, why hadn't she said something before, and stopped him making a fool out of himself?

Before he could really muster any indignation, however, a small voice in his head that he spent an anomalous amount of time ignoring, seemed to whisper, _But she said plenty of times that she wasn't interested, and __**that**__ didn't stop you, did it?_ Jaune sighed as he pushed the Library doors open. Weiss might not have told anybody she was seeing Coco before now…and Jaune hadn't really earned the respect to be told something so personal, had he?

He passed Ren, who nodded an acknowledgement. Jaune merely grunted in reply, heading for the bin in the corner that held the school's collection of comic books. One might wonder why an otherwise professional library kept such a stock, but Jaune was convinced that Professor Ozpin understood that Hunters needed time to unwind. That, or the Headmaster was secretly a huge _X-Ray and Vav_ fan; Jaune wasn't ruling that out.

As he approached the container, however, someone rounded the corner of the last bookshelf and they crashed into each other. "Oof-!" Jaune stumbled backward, barely keeping his balance; the other fell over hard, and Jaune hurried to offer him a hand up.

"Ugh, thanks man." The hand that grasped his was wrapped in a fingerless glove—Neptune. Jaune hadn't seen the blue-haired boy for a while. "Oh, Jaune! Didn't realize that was you. How've you been, man?"

Jaune wasn't sure he was ready to talk to anyone, much less someone who he knew _had_ been out with Weiss. But then, Weiss was gay…so were her trips into town with Neptune actually dates?

"I uh…just struck out again," Jaune said, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. "Kinda…permanently."

Neptune looked confused. "What do you mean, dude?"

"Weiss shot me down again, but uh…" he swallowed. "She's already got a date tonight. With a girl."

"Huh?" Neptune looked perplexed. "Oh. Ohhh… And you found out like that? That's…that's not cool." Jaune sighed, and reached for the lid of the comics bin again, but Neptune grabbed his shoulder. "Dude, listen, you need to get your mind off her, right? Let's hang out tonight."

"What?" Now it was Jaune's turn to be confused. "Me?" Jaune couldn't exactly say he lacked for friends anymore, but the idea of someone—especially, if he was honest, someone as cool as Neptune—wanting to make plans to spend time with him was still a foreign one.

"No, the other Jaune that I'm talking to," Neptune chuckled. Then his voice turned cajoling. "C'mon, Sun's got a date with his kitty cat tonight and I'm bored as hell; let's hit up a club. I'll play wingman and we'll have a good time. Just…promise not to wear a dress this time, all right?"

"I thought you couldn't dance?" Jaune asked, choosing not to focus on the fact that the club scene wasn't so much _his_ scene, even if he could easily see Neptune fitting in there. Besides, weren't you supposed to make sure your wingman wasn't better-looking than you?

"Dude, you don't exactly dance ballroom-style at a club," Neptune said, with an air of explaining the obvious. "Even my rhythm-deficient ear can figure out how to grind to a bass beat."

"Diiiid someone mention a club?" said a voice behind them. An arm draped over each of their shoulders, and dragged them in close to a mass of blonde hair.

"Hi, Yang," Jaune mumbled.

"Hey," said Neptune. "Yeah, Jaune and I are headed into town tonight to cheer him up. You want to come along?"

Yang ruffled Jaune's hair sympathetically, but shook her head. "I can't tonight, but tell you what, you want to hit up a club? You remember the place I took you the night we tracked down Torchwick, right?" she asked Neptune. He nodded, though he looked hesitant. "Try that place; _easily_ the best club in Vale."

"Won't we get a little, uh…shot?" Neptune asked nervously.

Yang scoffed, "Nah, Junior's a big ol' softie. Or at least, he's greedy enough to let bygones be bygones as long as you're paying customers. I'd go with you, but Ruby and I are headed for Patch in like an hour." She gave a Cheshire grin, turning to Jaune. "When you get in, have the twins tell him 'Blondie' says to make sure you have a good time, and he won't have any more expensive insurance claims."

Neptune swallowed nervously, but nodded again, and Yang released them, throwing her hands behind her head as she strolled back toward Ren. "Have fun, you two," she called over her shoulder. "You seen Ruby, Ren?"

"Workshop with Nora," he replied quietly, getting to his feet and packing away his books.

The pair left the library together, and Jaune looked at Neptune. "I have a bad feeling about tonight."

Neptune sighed. "I do too, but…it'd be pretty uncool to completely ignore a recommendation that strong, y'know?"

Jaune swallowed.

* * *

Pyrrha couldn't bring herself to make an excuse not to meet Weiss, so she slipped on the scarlet dress she had worn to the school dance. She'd had Nora braid her hair, and elected to wear an emerald necklace and earrings to match her circlet. With a final sigh, she slipped on a low pair of heels and headed for the docks.

Pyrrha arrived to find Coco already waiting, clad in a stunning little black dress that barely reached her thigh, with a string of pearls at her throat. She wore her beret, black opera gloves, and heels more than twice as high as Pyrrha's. At the sound of approaching footsteps, Coco turned and looked Pyrrha up and down over a much lighter pair of sunglasses than usual.

"My, you're a pretty one," she said by way of greeting. "Nikos, right? I've seen your endorsements."

"Erm, thank you," Pyrrha stammered. "I expect Weiss will be right along…"

Coco waved an airy hand. "She's always a few minutes late. You'd think daddy dearest would have taught her the benefits of punctuality, but it's harmless, overall."

She was still studying Pyrrha closely, and the redhead folded her arms self-consciously. _Is she flirting?_ She attempted some awkward small talk, but Coco promptly changed the subject back to their mutual friend.

"So, how is Weissy doing in her classes?"

"V-very well," Pyrrha stuttered, caught off-guard for what felt like the dozenth time in their short conversation. "Her grades are always near the top, and she's an excellent sparring partner."

"And cute, too, am I right?" Coco added slyly, peering over her sunglasses again.

Pyrrha hoped heartily that she wasn't blushing. _Why is Weiss' girlfriend asking things like that?_ Fortunately—_or not, for my poor heart_—Weiss chose that moment to appear. She looked fantastic, in a slim, ice-white dress that complemented her slender figure; the addition of her usual bolero kept it from looking too risqué, and a choker featuring a ruby in the shape of an apple combined to make Pyrrha's mouth feel decidedly dry.

"About time," Coco drawled. She gave Weiss a casual once-over, and sniffed. "I've told you about _Satine Couture_, darling…"

Weiss scoffed as she drew level with them. "Just because you can't pull it off doesn't make it _basse_," she shot back, demonstrating an equal penchant for Old Valean.

"Gules will love to hear that, I'm sure," Coco teased, stepping onto the transport.

Weiss merely gave an inelegant snort, turning to Pyrrha. "You look very nice," she said politely. "I didn't get a chance to tell you so at the dance, but that gown really is very flattering."

"Thank you," Pyrrha said, hoping her voice was steady. "I feel rather drab next to you, though," she complimented Weiss back. She supposed she must be imagining the flush that seemed to creep up the heiress' cheeks under the makeup. It was probably just the warm night.

Before Weiss could reply, Coco poked her head back out of the airship. "We're burning daylight, ladies."

"The sun's already down," Weiss snapped, but she and Pyrrha climbed hurriedly aboard, signalling the pilot that he could take them down.

* * *

"See, is this place cool or what?" Neptune grinned. Red and white lights strobed out the window, set high in the wall above the door, and they could feel the beat from woofer through their shoes.

He and Jaune were forced to take a quick step back as a body went sailing past them, thrown out by two young girls who were apparently bouncers for the club.

"Uh, sure…" Jaune said uncertainly, as the drunk man groaned through his impressive moustache. The bouncers stood in the doorway dusting their hands, probably making sure he didn't try to come back in. They only turned their attention to the newcomers when the man staggered off down the street, grumbling in a deep voice that cracked occasionally.

"Mel, isn't that the guy who came in with Yang last month?" asked one of the girls, eyeing Neptune as she straightened her red dress. The other, in white, gave him a once-over and nodded, folding her arms.

Faced with pretty girls, Neptune could tell Jaune was about to launch into his usual wannabe Fulvorka mode. He laid a hand on Jaune's shoulder and shook his head.

"Just don't, dude; not on them." Jaune looked embarrassed, but Neptune clapped him on the back. "Save it for when we're inside." He turned to the twins. "Yang said you'd take care of us tonight?"

Mel nodded. "Yeah, she texted us to say you were coming. If you think you can make less trouble than her, we shouldn't have any problems."

"'Course." Neptune gave his most winning smile, simply out of habit, but both girls just rolled their eyes. Man, he could not win for losing with these two. Probably just as well he had stopped Jaune—they would have torn him apart.

The two of them followed the twins inside, and up to the bar, where a man in a neat suit and tie stood directing the bartenders. "VIPs, Junior," Mel said, jerking her head toward the Huntsmen-in-training.

Junior glanced at them. "Never seen 'em," he grunted dismissively.

"They're Blondie's friends," the other twin corrected. Junior scowled, but nodded. "She's not here," the girl added, and Junior's face instantly looked relieved instead. He gave them a longer look.

"I remember you now…" he said, eyes flickering between them. Neptune gave the man his third-best smile. Jaune swallowed. Junior just shook his head. "Well, if you're on Blondie's tab, the bar's open. If you want information, come back another night." With that, he moved off down the bar, nodding at someone.

Neptune turned to Jaune. "What d'you want to drink?"

"I've never—"

"Vodka Sunrise it is," Neptune announced, loud enough for the closest bartender to hear. "And a Piña Colada for me." The tall barkeep nodded, though the set of his eyes gave Neptune the impression he was a seasoned killer taking a short break from murder. _Well, he does work for Junior…_

"So um, what brings you out tonight?" asked the twin in red—Neptune still hadn't caught her name.

Neptune threw an arm around Jaune's shoulders. "My friend here was feeling a bit down, so we decided it was a great excuse to come out and have a good time." Both girls looked at Jaune, and he smiled awkwardly. Neptune caught their drinks as they slid down the bar, and passed Jaune his. As the bartender passed by, Neptune idly noticed he appeared to be wearing a crown, glaring at a Faunus down the bar.

"Lady trouble?" asked Mel bluntly. Blushing, Jaune took a gulp of his drink.

"Who, Yang?" her sister guessed, looking baffled.

"Get real, Miltia," Mel scoffed.

Neptune snickered at that, sipping his own drink. "I think Jaune's a bit too scared of Yang." Jaune scowled, but didn't contradict him.

"I hear that," Miltia echoed, shrugging.

The twins were surprisingly good company. Their eyes were always roving the dance floor, watching for trouble, but despite that they made good conversation, and after a drink or two, even Jaune was managing to chime in occasionally without making a fool of himself trying to flirt. _Score one for the bro's night out_, Neptune thought, chuckling.

* * *

Ignoring the laughter from up the bar, Pyrrha drained her glass. At a glance, she thought she saw blue hair over the shoulder of a rather large man with a big, bushy beard, but she dismissed it as she signalled for yet another round.

Weiss and Coco were dancing. Weiss had popped over once or twice, but Pyrrha had more or less committed herself to drinking at least enough to get through the evening with minimal awkward memories, and Weiss had returned to the dance floor. She seemed a bit put out, but Pyrrha was too upset herself to care very much. She was always playing psychiatrist; it was about time she got to have a night to herself.

The bartender certainly wasn't going to stop her—he'd recognized her the moment she sat down. Perhaps if she gave him an autograph she could get her drinks for free. Not that she didn't have the money, but it was the thought that counted. But no, even now Pyrrha didn't have it in her to use her fame like that. Though, maybe an autograph in exchange for keeping the drinks coming? That was worth considering…

"Are you sure you're okay, Pyrrha?" came that lovely, _damnable_ voice.

She looked into Weiss' blue, blue eyes. "Hello again," Pyrrha said, though she was sure Weiss couldn't detect the bitterness she knew lurked under her tone. "Yes, of course I'm all right. Why?"

"You're…drinking kind of a lot…" Weiss said, biting her lip. "I guess it's none of my business," she added quickly, before Pyrrha could speak. "Dealing with JNPR must be stressful. Heaven knows I need a drink sometimes. Just, um. Come dance a little, maybe? I want you to have a good night."

Weiss was…babbling. The thought came slower than usual, courtesy of the alcohol, so she didn't really process it until the heiress was already halfway back toward the dance floor. How odd. There wasn't much that could get under Weiss' skin like that.

Pyrrha pondered it long enough to finish her drink again, before the depression of the evening crept up on her once more. She leaned her chin on her hand and gave the bartender another wave. Idly, she noticed it was a different young man behind the bar; this barkeep was tall and lanky, with short wild hair and—when she heard him speak—had an accent almost like Velvet's, though distinct. She promptly stopped caring when another Tequila Sunrise slid down the bar, and she raised it to her lips at once. It tasted a little off, compared to the others, but when Pyrrha glanced up at the foreign bartender and received a wink, she assumed that he had just made it stronger and took another sip, staring moodily into the glass. She ought to tip him better for that…

Maybe she should dump her tab on Weiss. It was petty, but Pyrrha wasn't exactly feeling as magnanimous as she usually did, nursing her sixth or so drink. Or it only the fourth? She couldn't remember…

Pyrrha glanced around, eyes half-lidded, and saw the strobes flickering and the dancers gyrating as if in slow motion. Weiss' off-center tail of hair rose as she moved her head in time with the bizarrely drawn-out beat, and seemed to take an age to fall. Weiss could have been here with her, _just_ her, if Pyrrha had just managed to confess her feelings. She couldn't very well do it now. She wondered why the right words would never come…

Pyrrha slumped on her stool. Her head felt so heavy, and the too-slow bass beat was oddly comforting as her eyes slid shut.

Dimly, she heard an accented voice in her ear say, "S'about bloody time…". She felt her arm being drawn over someone's shoulder and heaved upright. Who was helping her? "Smegging bollocks you're heavier than you look," he grumbled, as he helped her away from the bar. Did she need to use the bathroom? Why was the air suddenly so warm?

Why did the new song sound like a car's engine…?

* * *

"…guitar and everything, but this chick still shoots him down," Neptune finished a story, nudging Jaune. Jaune sighed, red in the cheeks, and took a hearty pull on his drink. After his second Vodka Sunrise, Neptune had ordered him a Mistral Mule instead, and turned to regaling some pretty clubgoers with yet another story of Jaune's failed attempts to woo Weiss.

"Yikes, she sounds ice cold," Melanie put in.

Miltia nodded. "It's not meant to be."

One of the other girls, who had been listening—some random girl with heavy makeup and a short dress—laid a hand on Jaune's arm. She didn't remove it as he raised his glass again, instead sliding it up to his bicep and giving it a squeeze.

Jaune looked at her fingers for a moment, then turned his eyes to Neptune, as if to ask, _Why?_

Neptune just shrugged and sipped his own drink. _Cheer up_ he mouthed.

Jaune sighed, but hitched a self-deprecating grin into his face. "Well, I guess I can see how it _might_ have been a little overboard," he admitted.

"I would _love_ to be serenaded like that," the girl holding his arm disagreed. "I bet you're _really_ talented."

"You bet," Neptune put in, before Jaune could say anything else. "Jaune is a _team leader_ up at Beacon, y'know. Poster child for 'more than meets the eye', if you know what I mean."

"That's _so_ cool…" the girl said. She glanced at her friend, then leaned in toward Jaune and purred, "I need a minute to pay my tab and powder my nose, but then what do you say we get out of here?" She winked at him before he could reply, then slid to her feet, linked arms with her friend, and made her way toward the bathroom.

In that moment, over her departing shoulder, Jaune saw a flash of white hair though the crowd.

_Weiss?_

* * *

"In here, boss," said a voice with a strange accent. The door swung open. Pyrrha groaned, head pounding, but somehow summoned the strength to raise her head enough to point her unfocused eyes at something other than her own knees. She couldn't have made many other sounds, nor moved very far even if her vision stopped swimming—she was bound and gagged, propped against the wall.

The 'boss' took one look at her and scowled, rounding on the foreign-sounding henchman. "You **idiot**!"

Through the haze clouding her mind, Pyrrha stared at the apparent mastermind. He was quite short, the top of his brown knit-cap barely coming up to the other man's shoulders, but the goon cringed in the face of his temper and impressive volume. Dimly, she noted that he sounded kind of like Blake's friend Sun.

He flung up his arms in frustration, and her distracted mind catalogued various details of his appearance. His knit cap had little bear ears on top, and red eyes stitched on the front like an Ursa's. He carried a naked sword strapped to his back, which was a sparkling blue color. He had tattoos on his arms: three triangles surrounded by black flames, and a bleeding skull superimposed on a gear.

"You had **one job**!"

"But boss, you said to pinch the redhead who's always with the Schnee girl—" the lackey began, but the small man overrode him instantly.

"**Yeah**! It was a simple instruction and yet you **still got the wrong girl**!" he roared, before launching into an absurdly-detailed string of obscenities. The man who had chained her up was cowering now, as the boss roared, "I don't even know who this girl is! **How are we supposed to ransom some random chick to the Schnee heiress instead of her partner, you—**" Another string of expletives followed.

"B-boss…" the goon interrupted bravely.

"**WHAT!?**"

"This is her Scroll," he held it up to show Pyrrha's wallpaper: a picture of her and Weiss after their first real spar, both exhausted and leaned against each other's shoulders with no strength to move.

The boss closed his mouth, staring at the Scroll. "So she's close with Schnee, too…" he muttered to himself, still breathing heavily, and the henchman relaxed slightly. Still scowling, he thrust the Scroll back at his underling. "Make the call. Try to make this the **one** thing you manage not to screw up today."

Pyrrha, however, was spinning from embarrassment that someone had seen her Scroll's background, and misery at her situation. _Ransom…_ she thought dully. _With Coco there, I doubt Weiss has even realized I'm gone…_

* * *

"Coco, I can't find Pyrrha," Weiss said worriedly.

"Maybe she went back?" Coco offered. "She didn't seem to be having a very good time. I'm sorry, hun; I should have done more to talk you up before our ride here."

"It's not your fault," Weiss waved her off, checking her Scroll. "But it's not like Pyrrha to just up and disappear without saying anything. She's always so polite, it's one of those things that…"

She trailed off, and Coco hip-checked her gently. "I know. You've got it bad, girl."

Weiss blushed, and it was, as always, uncomfortably visible with her pale complexion. "Is it that obvious?"

"Not to her, apparently," Coco sighed. "The way she was looking at you when you came out of the school though, I'd lay a good shopping trip on her being interested. You just need to figure out what's got her so down."

"I can't imagine!" Weiss complained. "We were talking fine just earlier today!" Her Scroll buzzed again, and the notification indicated it was from Pyrrha. "Oh, she sent me a message…" Weiss' voice died in her throat again, this time from sheer horror.

_Oh, no…_

* * *

"Hey, was that Weiss?" Jaune said suddenly.

Neptune scoffed. "Now you're seeing things? Just drink up, man; you're about to head out. Can you honestly imagine the Ice Queen at a club like…this…" He trailed off, as he saw a head of unmistakable white hair in the direction of Jaune's pointing finger. "What the…?"

"She looks upset," Jaune said, getting to his feet.

Neptune made a grab for him, but missed, and Jaune slipped away. "_Don't_, dude," Neptune groaned, getting to his feet and trying to catch Jaune before he could say hello to the girl who had all but driven him out here. Honestly, the boy had to be a masochist.

Before they were halfway across the room, though, they both saw Weiss suddenly freeze, staring at her Scroll. She grabbed her brunette companion roughly, forcing the screen under her nose, and the other girl paled as well. Immediately, both made for the door. Jaune and Neptune followed.

* * *

"_We have your red-haired friend. She's unharmed—for the nonce. I'm sure we'll be able to come to a…_nice_ little arrangement. We'll be in touch._" The heavily-accented voice cut off in the program's beep, asking if she wished to replay the message.

"Well, that answers the question of where she is," Coco said darkly, as the voicemail came to an end. Weiss was staring blankly at the Scroll…or rather, at the picture of a bound, gagged, and clearly drugged Pyrrha that had been delivered along with the voice message.

The first demand would come soon. Weiss swallowed; the thought feeling spiky and bitter in her throat. This was supposed to be a fun night out so that she could gauge Pyrrha's potential feelings toward her. Now…

She would have to negotiate as she had been trained—would have to hope she could put aside the panic screaming in her ears and try to simply get her friend home alive.

"Weiss?" came an unexpected voice.

Weiss jumped, whirling around. Jaune stepped into the alley beside the club, trailed by Neptune.

"We saw you guys leave in a hurry—_is that Pyrrha_!?" He snatched the Scroll, inadvertently restarting the message. He went very still, staring at image just as Weiss had done.

"It's going to be all right, Jaune," Weiss heard herself saying. "I've been contacted for the ransom, and the Company has a procedure for things like this, even if it doesn't involve me directly—"

"Tell me what to do," he said seriously, handing the Scroll back.

"There won't be any—what?" she blinked.

"How can we help?" he reiterated. Then, before she could protest, he growled, "My _partner_ is in trouble. I am not going to run back to Beacon with my tail between my legs, and we're not going to have time to call for backup. I wouldn't tell you that it wasn't your business if Ruby was kidnapped. Tell. Me. How. I. Can. Help." Neptune gave a firm nod beside him, his usual easygoing smile nowhere in evidence.

Weiss tried to think of some argument against it anyway, but the Scroll rang. It was Pyrrha's number. Drawing a shuddering breath, she accepted the call.

"Talk," she answered, voice flat.

"Schnee," came the response. It was a different voice; this one was suited to shouting and barking orders. "I imagine you know why I'm calling, unless my friend managed to foul up yet another order…"

"I want proof of life," she overrode the end of his sentence, eyes narrowed.

The voice chuckled darkly. "Straight to the point, is it? Here." The screen flickered to life, showing Pyrrha, still tied up and gagged. With the poor picture quality, it was difficult to tell if she was even breathing.

"He almost sounds like Sun," Neptune whispered, unnerved.

"Move closer to her, and show a hand in frame with four fingers raised, then one," Weiss ordered.

There was a scoff, then another evil chuckle. "Wanting to pretend you've got some control, eh? I'll play along." The camera moved as she ordered, and Pyrrha's eyes tracked the Scroll dizzily. A brown-gloved hand moved into frame, grasping Pyrrha hard by the chin, fingers digging into her cheeks. She gasped in pain, and Weiss heard Jaune's fists clench. The hand on screen released Pyrrha, folding the thumb in. "Here's your four fingers," he raised them. "And now one." The index, ring, and pinky fingers lowered. "Now, you're done making demands, and you're gonna start making offers—and I don't wanna hear a Lien under two hundred thousand."

"Fifty thousand," Weiss said coldly. "You've got a student Huntress, not _me_. She's not even on my squad."

"Wh-!" Jaune began to yell, but Coco slapped a hand over his mouth at once. He struggled, but she was stronger, overpowering him even in four-inch heels.

There was a flash of silver on the screen, and Pyrrha was suddenly sporting a short, vertical cut over her right eye. Her cry of pain was muffled by the rag in her mouth.

"Do I sound like I'm in a joking mood?" the kidnapper hissed. The knife returned more slowly, this time touching just below the eye, offset from the first cut. "I'll give you some time to reconsider. In the meantime, I'm going to make her pretty face mirror yours. If I still don't like what you have to say after that…" The call cut off.

"How could you-!" Jaune bellowed, Coco finally having let him go.

Weiss just sank to her knees, trembling and touching her own scar. Jaune stopped yelling, and Weiss allowed herself one frantic sob before dashing at her eyes and pulling the Ice Queen façade back around her like a shroud. "Everyone call your lockers, we need weapons," she ordered. "Jaune, see if you can locate Pyrrha's Scroll on your Team Map; it's a long shot, but they might have neglected to turn off the tracking chip. Coco, get him up to higher ground to maximize the scanning range. Neptune, can you call your reprobate friend and see if we can get any backup?"

She pulled up her banking app on her Scroll, withdrawing a clear, blank Lien chip from her wallet. Inserting the chip, she transferred twenty thousand lien onto it with just a few taps, then placed it in a different pocket. She repeated the process until she reached two hundred thousand, slipping the chips into a spare bag. Father would call in the morning, she had no doubt, when he noticed so much missing from her trust fund, but it would be a small price to pay for Pyrrha's life.

With five loud, resounding crashes, their lockers landed nearby, and Weiss opened hers immediately, retrieving Myrtenaster. Neptune shut his Scroll and quickly grabbed his own weapon. "No luck reaching Sun," he told her. "I was afraid of that—he's on a date, so he probably turned it off."

Weiss scoffed, anxiety turning easily to aggravation. "Tch. Typical. It wouldn't normally matter, because Blake is smart enough to always be reachable, but her Scroll is out for repairs." With a final, practiced motion, she smoothed out her skirt and settled Myrtenaster into place at her side.

At the same time, Coco and Jaune slid down the fire escape. Jaune crossed to his own locker to retrieve his armor and Crocea Mors. Then he used the Team Leader override to force open Pyrrha's locker, and picked up her weapons as well.

Coco merely pulled out her handbag before sending the locker back, not even bothering to change clothes, apparently uncaring of the dress' shortness even with a fight looking likely. "We got a faint signal—not much more than a direction," she reported, inclining her head toward the Industrial District. "But it's a good sign, overall. Call them and we'll get moving."

Weiss nodded, swallowed hard, and pulled her scroll back out.

* * *

Pyrrha's head bobbed. She actually felt rather better than she had earlier, but was playing sick so that her captors wouldn't think to drug her again. Between the alcohol and whatever they had spiked her last drink with, she couldn't channel a whit of Aura. Her eye stung, and she lolled her neck to the right so that the blood would drip away.

Her Scroll lit up on the table, and Weiss' ringtone played. "_Mirror… Tell me something… Tell me who's the loneliest of all…_"

The short, tattooed man arrived to answer it, no longer carrying his sword. "I'm listening."

Weiss' voice could freeze a volcano. "Show me proof of life and I'll double my first offer. Two fingers, then five."

The man pointed the scroll over at Pyrrha, raising two of his own fingers in shot, before opening his hand. When the camera's view was clear again, he said carelessly, "We're live, and you can see she's dripping, so her heart's still beating. Double…I think you're still trying to hardball me, Schnee. Make it triple and I won't have to make her bleed again." His tone and actions thus far made it clear he wouldn't hesitate.

There was a pause. The camera was still on her. Pyrrha twitched her pinky, then her forefinger, then slowly closed her fist, all without looking up or making any visible sign of recognition.

"Fine," Weiss said coldly. "Triple. Where's the drop?"

The man gave an amused snort. "I'll call you back and let you know." He hung up, tossed the scroll back down on the table, and strolled to the door. "Don't you go anywhere now," he smirked back at Pyrrha as he left.

Pyrrha strained against her bonds at once, but she still couldn't use her Aura or Semblance, so she was well trapped. She could only hope that arranging the ransom drop would take long enough that she could try to escape. Pyrrha knew—as well as Weiss must know—that kidnappings rarely ended with the victims reunited. The chances of any of them walking away tonight, much less all of them together, were slim.

* * *

"Ugh, we can't make a plan if he won't give us any information," Neptune fretted.

Weiss shook her head. "We can't afford to wait on them to make a move to set up a drop," she said decisively. "We're going to trace her Scroll with Jaune's before they can move her."

"It's like playing cards," Coco explained, as they all moved along the rooftops toward the Industrial District. "You gotta know when to check, when to bluff, and when to flip the table."

Jaune said nothing, his face set, and uncharacteristically grim. Perhaps Pyrrha had been right all along—the guy really did have hidden depths.

"So…shock and awe?" Neptune questioned skeptically. "You sure that's smart?" Jaune glared at him, and he raised his hands defensively. "Look, I wanna help Pyrrha too, but if we do this wrong they could just kill her."

"Yes and no," Weiss answered the question, ignoring his justification. "We hit them hard and fast, and they'll think it's a diversion."

"If they suspect a diversion, they'll be looking for someone trying to sneak in," Neptune pointed out.

Weiss gave a steely smile. "The diversion isn't to cover up us sneaking in. It's to cover up the fact that we already did. By the time you engage, someone will already be inside."

"Someone?" Neptune persisted.

"Me," Jaune growled.

"No, Jaune. Me." Jaune rounded on her, but Weiss plowed on. "I am smaller than you, lighter, and altogether more graceful, _and_ capable of attacking, defending, and retreating without pause or hesitation. _I will bring Pyrrha back._"

Jaune eyed at her for a moment longer, then turned back to his Scroll with a clipped nod.

"I'm guessing I'm on diversion duty," Coco said, running a loving finger along her handbag's strap. "Just wish I had some extra ammo."

Neptune still looked uncertain, but he nodded nervously. "Just…take care of yourself in there?" he said, as the four of them came to a halt at last, staring at the building across the street that Jaune's map told them contained Pyrrha—or at least, her Scroll. There wasn't much reason to separate them, though, since that was the medium they were using to contact Weiss. As they scoped out the building, he added, "What if they call while you're sneaking in?"

"They won't," Weiss firmly. "It takes time to set up a drop, and despite how tough they've been, I don't think their little operation has gone fully to plan, so they're improvising. Until then, they won't contact me—the better to leave me to sweat—and they won't move Pyrrha to minimize the chances of escape or rescue." She glanced at Jaune's still-uncharacteristically foreboding expression, and added more softly. "By the time I get there, Pyrrha will probably be ready to escape on her own. She signalled us during the last call, didn't you see?"

Everyone looked at her in surprise, even Coco. "When?"

"When that scum asked for triple the ransom," Weiss explained. "The camera was still on her, and she signed without looking up. I think she's tricking them into believing she's more drugged than she really is."

"What message did she pass on?" Jaune asked, his voice almost unrecognizable for the emotions strangling it.

"That she's only seen two of the enemy, and that she could take them." Weiss smirked. "I'm sure she meant if she were unbound and healthy, but if she could win, so can I." Despite her confident words, she rubbed her hands together anxiously. "Still, I don't want to waste any time. I'm going in."

"Take this." Neptune tossed her a small, emerald-green pouch—a Hunter-standard First Aid kit. "Sage upgraded ours," he advised her. "There should be some smellingsalts and a stimulant in there, unless you think she's allergic…"

"She's not," Jaune grunted. Then, to her slight surprise, he extended Pyrrha's weapons to her. "I'm giving you twenty minutes before we start the 'diversion'. If you're not out with Pyrrha by half an hour, I'm coming to get you both."

Weiss nodded solemnly, and with a flourish of Myrtenaster, formed a glyph to propel her to the roof of the warehouse.

* * *

There was a sudden, muffled thump.

Pyrrha looked around surreptitiously, still pretending to be drugged. The room was empty, her scroll sitting on the table where the lead kidnapper had left it to go consult with his subordinate about where to make the ransom drop. It was somewhat of a surprise that he apparently trusted the foreign man enough to want his opinion, given the way he had berated him earlier, but she supposed even criminals had friends.

The echoes of the thump faded, and were replaced by a soft shuffling. A ceiling tile shifted, and a familiar pair of blue eyes peered down at her.

_Weiss?_ Hope beat suddenly in Pyrrha's chest. Having overheard the Scroll calls, she had allowed herself to think that Weiss might actually pay to ransom her, though the dismissal in her tone while dealing with the kidnappers had caused her to despair of ever repairing their friendship. _But…she's here…_

With a quick glance at the door, Weiss dropped gracefully into the room, and immediately wedged a chair under the doorknob. Then she crossed back to Pyrrha, looking desperately concerned.

"Are you all right?" she whispered, quickly pulling the rag out of Pyrrha's mouth.

Pyrrha gagged, her throat extremely dry.

"Pyrrha, are you okay?" Weiss repeated urgently. Myrtenaster flashed, and the cords binding Pyrrha fell away. "We need to hurry and get out of here. We've only got a few minutes before our diversion starts."

"D-diversion?" Pyrrha coughed, rubbing her legs to restart the blood flow.

"To cover our escape," Weiss began, quickly passing Miló and Akoúo̱ over to their owner, but before she could finish explaining, the building trembled slightly from an explosion outside. Distantly, they heard the lead kidnapper swearing violently. Weiss cursed too. "Not enough time…" she moaned.

Pyrrha was getting to her feet, but she was still unsteady. Though she was finally able to channel a trickle of Aura, it was returning too slowly to do much more than help to heal her slightly. She wouldn't be able to use her Semblance without the risk of passing out.

Weiss drew what looked like a small syringe gun from a first-aid pouch, shooting it into Pyrrha's bare thigh. Pyrrha hissed at the needle, but within minutes, felt her head clearing and her Aura regenerating faster.

"This won't last long," Weiss warned. "But hopefully long enough for us to sneak ou-"

There was an impact against the door. The chair held, but the foreign henchman's voice called, "It's bloody locked!"

"She's probably trying to escape, you idiot!" roared the distant voice of the leader. "Just blow it open!"

There was a soft clatter outside the door, and Weiss had to quickly raise a glyph to protect herself and Pyrrha from flying debris as the door was blasted inward. The henchman blinked at them for a moment, flummoxed, before he cried, "Boss!"

"**What?**" roared the leader, storming around the corner with his weapon strapped to his back once more. Then he caught sight of Weiss. "You'd better have come by to drop off my money," he hissed, reaching for the hilt over his shoulder.

Weiss brandished Myrtenaster in answer.

"Go take care of their reinforcements," the leader growled. "If they get away, go to Plan G!" His minion ran off at once, and he unlimbered the strange blue broadsword from his back. "I am so **ready**!" he announced, charging forward.

* * *

"Think we should give Weiss a bit longer?" Neptune asked nervously, his usual cool-guy routine cracking somewhat under the pressure of the night's events.

Jaune was staring at the clock on his scroll. The minute ticked over, and he got to his feet. "No," he answered coldly. "Time's up. Do it, Coco."

Coco nudged a brick with her toe, then kicked it toward the door of the building, which was set in a wall beside a black and gold tower of crates. It crashed against the metal, but there was no response from within.

"Hmph. I'd say that indicates Weiss was right, and there's probably only two of them around," she murmured. "Strong door though… Well, we'll see how it stands up to this." She strode forward, pivoted on one of her heels, and whirled her handbag around to slam against the doorknob. When she lowered the bag again, the doorknob was simply gone, a splintered hole remaining to show that Coco had knocked it inward. "Typical," she scoffed gently. She kicked the door open, then unfolded the handbag into a multi-cylinder machine gun. With a quick squeeze of the trigger, she peppered a steel drum just inside the entrance with bullets, and it exploded.

The three of them heard distant shouts, and a smaller explosion from inside the building as they strode into a large room, full of boxes and crates providing easy hiding places. They looked around cautiously. There was no indication of which way they should proceed, and the only noteworthy feature of the room was a glass case in the corner, containing a tuxedo and a single rose. Before they could choose an exit at random, however, they heard running footsteps drew nearer, and a tall, lanky man with short hair and a scruffy beard arrived, shouldering what looked like a short, wide cannon.

"Have a nice day!" he cried, his accented voice lilting upward at the end. There was a _boof_ and a distinctive hiss, and a bundle of what looked like old-fashioned TNT shot toward them. They all had time to register that the band around it bore what looked like a smiley face, before having to dive for cover. "D'oh, sausages…" their attacker complained, firing again.

* * *

Weiss spun Myrtenaster's cylinder to the yellow chamber, and sparks danced along the blade as she swung it at her opponent. He caught the blow on his own sword with no hesitation, and after a short exchange, caught her a mighty blow. Weiss rolled with the impact, but didn't get back up. Pushing down the fear that seized her heart, and the exhaustion that still plagued her from the earlier booze and tranquilizer, Pyrrha moved between Weiss and her assailant at once.

She twirled Miló in her hand, shifting it to spear form, and began thrusting at the kidnapper at once. He leapt backward, batting her strikes aside, and took another ferocious swing, like the one that had felled Weiss. Pyrrha caught it on Akoúo̱, and staggered. He was _strong_!

Shifting Miló back to sword-form, she bashed aside his push and began to exchange blows. Every sword strike jarred her arm and almost knocked her weapon from her grip. Calling on her still vastly-diminished Semblance, Pyrrha tried to turn his weapon aside…but nothing happened. Pyrrha was so startled that she almost didn't dodge the next slash in time. She parried his subsequent attack, alternating aiming for his arms and his neck, but couldn't manage more than a few glancing hits.

Conscious thought vanished for a time as their fight became fiercer, but eventually a horrid realization sank in. _He's better than me._ That was truly rare, and in most situations, Pyrrha would relish the challenge…but this was the man who had kidnapped her, held her to ransom, scarred her face, and—by far the worst of all—injured Weiss.

Rather than block his next swing with Akoúo̱ again, Pyrrha twisted in a way that went against every bit of her training and combat experience, and caught his blade on the reverse of her own in a way that let her use his momentum against him. Rather than hit her, his sword bit deeply into the ground, and became stuck…but Miló also went flying, shifting automatically into spear-form and embedding in the wall beside Weiss' feebly-stirring form. Ignoring the wrenching pain in her back, Pyrrha continued to spin on her heel and smashed Akoúo̱ into the side of his head.

Dazed, he crumpled to the ground, and didn't move. Pyrrha hurried over to Weiss, returning Miló and Akoúo̱ to their customary places and dragging the heiress' arm over her shoulder. Weiss, still unsteady, managed to sheathe Myrtenaster and grabbed Pyrrha's Scroll off the table as they left.

Weiss tugged gently on Pyrrha's arm to indicate which way to go, and—inappropriate time though it was for such a thought—Pyrrha couldn't help but appreciate how nicely the smaller girl fit against her, or how nice her smooth, slightly cool skin felt against Pyrrha's neck. Blushing a little, Pyrrha tightened her grip around Weiss' waist, and followed the silent directions toward a series of explosions that slowed as they approached.

They entered a large room, full of scorched cardboard and smashed bits of crate. The only thing still relatively whole was a glass case in the corner, and even that was so blackened as to make the nameplate upon it completely unreadable. Coco stood with one foot planted on the unconscious foreign man's back, with her handbag over her shoulder and a large, unfamiliar cannon in her hand.

Jaune hurried over to them at once, offering support, but Weiss merely passed him Pyrrha's Scroll, tightening her own grip around the taller girl's shoulder. "She's fine, Jaune. As promised."

"I kinda figured you'd be carrying _her_," Neptune said to Weiss, with what was plainly a nervous laugh, approaching and laying a hand on Jaune's shoulder. His relief at seeing them safe was clear in his tone. Jaune nodded silently, still hovering nearby in case one of them needed help.

"Let's…just…get out of here…" Weiss hissed, pressing still closer to Pyrrha.

* * *

The two of them remained sitting close the entire way back to Beacon, from the taxi ride to the airship. By the time they settled in for the flight, Weiss had nodded off on Pyrrha's shoulder. Coco smirked the whole time. Neptune merely blinked, before comprehension dawned, and he turned to distract Jaune.

Jaune, however, had already noticed. His eyes met Pyrrha's for a long moment. Then, he nodded. No words were needed, and when the airship landed, he left quickly…though that could have had to do with his chronic airsickness. Neptune followed him, looking concerned, and Coco sauntered away in the direction of her year's dorms, pausing only to tip Pyrrha a wink.

Pyrrha looked down at Weiss. Not being on her team, she had never seen Weiss asleep. It was odd, seeing the heiress looking so…vulnerable. She looked at the scar over Weiss' eye, knowing that after tonight, she would have one to mirror it. It didn't detract from Weiss' beauty a bit, she thought. She smoothed back a few stray strands of white hair from Weiss' brow. Weiss didn't move, and Pyrrha decided that there wasn't much harm in enjoying the intimacy of their closeness in light of the night's tensions. Eyes sliding shut, she pressed a kiss to Weiss' forehead, then pressed her own brow against the same spot.

When she raised her lids again, Pyrrha saw eyes of the bluest skies looking steadily at her. She jumped, starting to draw back, but Weiss' hand slid instantly to the back of Pyrrha's neck, keeping her close. Pyrrha opened her mouth to stammer an apology, and suddenly found Weiss' lips pressed against her own. It didn't take long for Pyrrha's eyes to flutter shut again, and it was a long time before either of them left their seats.

* * *

**A/N**: I hope this was sufficiently angsty. (And that the happy ending wasn't too jarring, but juxtaposition is important.) This one got long, but in fairness, I think the requested plot demanded some setup time. Let me know what you think? (Also, I don't particularly ship Noah's Arc but hell, if you can read that in this story, more power to you.)

This story kinda requires that the characters be drinking, so let's handwave it and say that they're able to at seventeen. Or they can because they're Hunters. Or, most likely of all, Junior just doesn't really care. In the interest of safety, none of them is driving any vehicle. (Never drink and drive, kids.) In other news, drowning your sorrows is generally not the best plan, alcohol being a depressant, but it's not like it's uncommon.

Headcanon that the four kingdoms originally spoke different languages (what we would recognize as French in Vale, German in Atlas, Greek in Mistral), but now use a common tongue based on the language of Vacuo (natively what we might call Middle Ænglisc, the Anglo-Saxon language heavily influenced by Norse). In the aftermath of the Great War, Vacuo's contribution to the world was a common language that everyone would use to minimize miscommunication due to translations. At the same time, a lot of people chose to move around and a lot of culture was exchanged. (For instance, the island of Patch was mainly settled by yet a different minority group, speaking what we would consider Mandarin.) Ta da, impromptu non-canon history lesson. (No need to thank me, RT.)

Coco's dress is from a piece of fanart I saw where she and Penny (of all people) are all dolled up. Weiss' I more or less invented. 'Fulvous' is a shade of orange, 'Kavorka' is from _Seinfeld_ referring to Kramer's tendency to pick up women who are out of his league; I stuck them together. This story is also full of RT cameos. Why? Who cares!


	20. As Good As A Chorus

**Note**: For a tumblr request.

**Request**: Yang Xiao Long/Mercury Black (The Gauntlets And The Greaves); "High school AU". (Request by Anon).

* * *

As Good As A Chorus

**Summary**: Yang teases her sister a lot over her crush, but finds the new transfer student is on her mind a lot…

* * *

He was staring out the window when she came in.

Yang paused. She hadn't expected anybody to be in here—even for nerdy kids like her sister, the senior chemistry classroom wasn't exactly a popular hangout. For Yang's part, Chem was her favourite class, and Professor Peach her favourite teacher, so she had volunteered to help TA this year in lieu of a study hall.

(Less study hall unfortunately meant less naptime, but Doctor Oobleck rarely let her nod off, and she'd been assigned to his study hall for the first time since freshman year, so she didn't consider giving it up to be a great sacrifice.)

And yet, here she was, having arrived even before Professor Peach returned from lunch…and there was someone else in the room.

He was tall, and rather striking with his silver hair and combat boots even taller than Ruby's—real ones, Yang suspected, while Ruby's were Wal-Mart knockoffs. His jeans were tight, though not skinny; he simply had a lot of muscle to his legs, which a few artful rips in the denim showed off. If she had to guess, she'd say that the tears and scarfs were natural, too. His arms and shoulders, though probably a little narrower than her own, were nicely defined in his workout shirt. He looked about her age, and was in a classroom that only seniors used…and she had never seen him before.

She would remember legs like those.

All this went through her head as she entered, before he jerked around to face her.

"Hellooo~!" she sang, a very characteristic gesture.

He just blinked, apparently perplexed by her cheery manner. He didn't say anything.

"…Okay…" she put on her most sunny smile. "I'm Yang! I'm gonna be a TA for Professor Peach this year." she inclined her head toward the teacher's desk.

"Mercury," he offered finally. "And I just transferred. The principal asked me to wait in here. Didn't say what for or how long, though."

"Well, Professor Peach will be here in a little bit so I bet you'll find out then!" Yang said, joining him by the window. "This is a chem lab, obviously. Do you like chem?"

"It's all right," he drawled. He gave her a glance. "Frankly–"

"I don't look the type, right?" Yang finished for him. He looked away for a moment—possibly embarrassed—but turned back when she laughed. "I get that a lot, as you might imagine." She shrugged carelessly. "I like things that fizzle, or burn, or go boom!"

He chuckled incredulously, but nodded. "That's always fun," he admitted.

"So where did you transfer from?" Yang asked, tilting her head. He didn't have much of a regional accent—but then, neither did she, particularly given her Mandarin name.

"Haven High over in Mistral. Place _bit_." His tone was not encouraging, and Yang hurried to change the subject.

"My sister and I are sort of out-of-towners too, though not from as far away. We grew up on Patch Island." she pointed out the window toward the sea, out of sight past downtown Vale, beyond the running track in football field.

"Never heard of it."

"Oh. Well it's just off the coast," she said. "So…you're a senior?"

"Yeah, I'm giving it one more chance," Mercury grumbled.

_Interesting…_ "More of a get-out-there-into-the-real-world type?" Yang grinned. "I get you. I want to go travelling, see the world, that kind of thing. Mountain climbing, scuba diving, spelunking…"

Mercury raised an eyebrow, but before he say anything, Professor Peach bustled in, and the two were quickly separated; Mercury to some kind of assessment, and Yang to grading Day One pretests.

The bell rang, and Yang left for her next class. "Nice meeting you!" she called back in her way out the door.

Mercury waived idly, still apparently absorbed in his test, and she didn't notice him look suddenly up as soon as she turned away, nor how his eyes followed her out of sight.

* * *

Later, as she was leaving Gym, Yang gave an involuntary jump at the mousetrap shout of the assistant principal, Glynda Goodwitch. Even when she knew she hasn't done anything wrong that voice made her automatically second guess her conscience.

But Goodwitch wasn't yelling at her, she was down by the corner of the building, glaring down the alleyway with the smokers congregated between classes.

_Is someone underage smoking?_ Yang was always nervous of such stories—she had a younger sister to think of, after all. Ruby wasn't the type though, fortunately.

"Wait are you yelling at _me_?" Came an incredulous voice from around the corner.

_Mercury?_

"It is illegal to smoke on campus, young man, and illegal for a minor to purchase or possess–"

"I'm eighteen!" Mercury shouted back as Yang approached the corner, staying carefully out of Goodwitch's line of sight. "And I'm not smoking; it's not even lit! Come pat me down, I don't carry a lighter!"

Goodwitch scowled mightily at a student talking back, much less yelling. "You will accompany me to the office," she said coldly.

Mercury flung his hands up, then buried them in his pockets and slouched sullenly after Goodwitch, grumbling nonstop. Yang wanted to say something, but Goodwitch was already eyeing her—probably for witnessing Mercury's back talk—so she just offered a commiserating look and slipped away. Surprisingly Mercury glanced back and caught her eye. He didn't visibly react, but something about it buoyed her, somehow; as good as a chorus of her favorite song.

When he was gone, Yang glanced back down the alleyway beside the gym. Mercury's discarded cigarette lay there, thin, light, and unburnt. _Perhaps he's trying to quit_, she mused. That could only be a good thing. Maybe Uncle Qrow still had some of that gum, or some advice. She'd have to call when she got home.

The bell rang, and Yang jumped again, sprinting toward her next class. Hopefully Oobleck would be out refilling his coffee, and she could slip in unnoticed.

* * *

"How was your day, Little Sister?" Yang asked Ruby, as they waited for their mom to pick them up. She asked every day, and the answer was invariably the same:

"Urgh, just as boring as always!" Ruby groaned. "You _have_ to help me talk Dad into letting me graduate early. I cannot _deal_ with two more years of this place without you around."

"Aww, are you going to miss me that much?" Yang teased, throwing an arm around Ruby's neck.

Ruby flailed, extricating herself with difficulty. "As if!" She stuck out her tongue at Yang. "But all my friends are in _your_ year; I'm going to be here all alone!"

"That's not true," Yang reminded her. "You'll have Penny the whole time." Penny was a freshman, of whom the other first-year students were in awe for all her upperclassmen friends.

"Penny's dads are putting her in for the SATs this weekend, so she can graduate this year! I'm going to have no one, when I could be heading to college with all of you!" Ruby whined. "You know I'm smart enough to pass…"

"All right, all right, I get it," Yang conceded, because Ruby was looking frantic. "Look, we'll talk to Mom on the way home. You know convincing her means the battle with Dad is already half-won."

Ruby bounced on the balls of her feet, happy to have gotten her away for now.

"And I promise not to mention to Dad that the other half of your reasoning is because of your crush on our Ice Queen," Yang added slyly.

Ruby spluttered, blushing, but didn't bother to deny it. She was the one who had told Yang in the first place, after all, hoping for some advice. Yang's suggestion—"Just push the Ice Queen up against the wall and kiss her until she melts"—was shot down immediately, and Ruby had stomped off to ask someone else instead.

Yang cackled, and Ruby shoved her, though the petite girl was only able to make her stumble a step or two.

"You don't hear me teasing you about that new boy," Ruby grumbled.

Yang stopped laughing. "Who, Mercury? Meeting the new kid isn't the same as having a crush, Rubes," Yang said, using the nickname that Ruby hated.

Ruby scoffed. "Yeah, and that's why you wouldn't shut up about him _all day_, Yang-a-lang," she fired back, making Yang blink. Not at her own hated, teasing nickname, but at the accusation.

"I don't–"

"Oh, you are _such_ a smitten kitten!" Ruby crowed. "It's as bad as when you met Pyrrha, before you found out she wasn't into girls." She paused, apparently struck by a random thought. "_Yang, what if Weiss doesn't like girls?_" she asked, suddenly frantic again.

Yang was torn from a sudden introspection as she burst out laughing. "Ruby, there are many obstacles standing between you and our Ice Queen, but that is not one of them," she assured her sister, touseling her short, dyed hair.

As Summer's sedan pulled up, though, Yang's mind drifted back to Ruby's words. Was she smitten with Mercury? Surely not. She felt her cheeks warm slightly, the more she considered it. _Well, maybe just a little…_

* * *

Yang saw Mercury several more times that week. They had Psychology and English together, and it was in the latter that Ruby—herself a TA for Professor Port—got new ammunition to tease her sister.

Yang volunteered to read aloud in class fairly regularly, enjoying being the center of attention. When nobody volunteered to read opposite her as Ophelia, Mercury was nominated by a smirking Ruby to read for Hamlet. Honestly, from an outside perspective, Yang might have been impressed by her deviousness. At the moment though, she was busy trying not to blush, having read ahead to the point when Ophelia entered the scene.

"Come hither, my dear Hamlet, sit by me," recited Yang's best friend Blake, playing Hamlet's mother Gertrude. She too seemed to know where the scene was headed, because she looked terribly amused.

"Nay, good mother," Mercury replied, raising his eyes from the book to look directly at Yang. "Here's metal more attractive."

She missed the next line, still meeting Mercury's eye as he said, as if to her directly, "Lady, shall I lie in your lap?" His voice was just slightly mocking—it was appropriate for Hamlet's not quite stable mind, but hearing the words from Mercury sent Yang's thoughts into overdrive.

"No, my Lord," she managed. Though, the thought of Mercury as a Lord seemed rather appropriate. Or perhaps as the god he was named for…

"I mean, my head upon your lap?" he clarified for Hamlet, still looking at Yang with a slight smile.

"Ay, my Lord," Yang replied, imagination running wild again. Mercury's head in her lap…_Mmm…_

Perhaps fortunately, at exactly that moment the fire alarm went off, and they all exited the building in a crushing mob as teachers ineffectually shouted words like "orderly!" and "calm!"

Yang's eyes lingered on Mercury's back as she followed him down the stairs. As he rounded the turn, his gaze rose to meet hers. She winked, and he gave a smirk in reply. They got separated in the crowd after that, but Yang's grin remained firmly in place.

* * *

Several more weeks of subtle flirtation passed before the routine was interrupted by huge banners going up all over the school. It was Homecoming week, and the student council—or more particularly, Weiss—was going all out this year.

For the first time in four years, Yang found herself in a dilemma. She and her friends had decided early in Freshman year that they would simply go as a group, but it looked like that pattern would finally be breaking.

For one thing, there were several couples within the group now: Jaune and Pyrrha, and Blake and one of last year's transfer students, Sun. Ren and Nora didn't count, she decided, since they weren't dating, even if they _were_ inseparable.

Yang had a sneaking feeling that Ruby was scheming to ask Weiss, too, and though she didn't say it to either of them, she had an inkling it was going to work. But this would leave Yang as the only person in the group going stag, besides the disinterested Penny. In itself, this didn't bother her…but she kept finding herself wondering if Mercury would look as good in a suit as she imagined he would.

Though she dismissed the idea of using that particular line on him, when Yang saw Ruby leaving the house wearing makeup and without her hoodie, she made up her mind to at least see if Mercury had a date yet. The dance was tomorrow night—Ruby had procrastinated and Yang had dithered too long—so she couldn't very well get upset if he did. But if not…

The ride to school seemed to take no time at all, given both girls' states of anticipation, and when they climbed out of the car, Summer wished them both luck, despite neither having confided their plans to her.

Ruby dash off immediately, no doubt to try to find Weiss before classes started. Yang hesitated. She knew exactly where Mercury was likely to be, she just wasn't sure she had the nerve to ask him right away.

But now she had decided to ask him, running away wasn't in her nature.

Yang made her way to the courtyard, and around the gym, headed for the same alleyway where Goodwitch had yelled at him all those weeks ago. Sure enough, there he stood, staring down at an unlit cigarette in his hands. He didn't look up, and seemed to be lost in thought. She hesitated to interrupt him, and was second-guessing her decision to ask right away, when he suddenly spoke.

"See something you like?" Came his usual drawl.

Mustering her courage, Yang kept her voice as light and steady as usual. "I think I've made that pretty clear by now."

Finally, he rolled his head around to look at her, idly spinning the cigarette in his fingers. "And how should I take that?" he asked after a moment, raising an eyebrow.

"Hmmm," Yang hummed as though thinking hard. "Well, maybe that I'm wondering the same thing?" she suggested innocently.

He snorted. "I think the answer to that is pretty obvious."

"I don't suppose you'd care to spell it out for me?" she asked, conscious of how much she sounded like Ruby when she was nervous.

He just smirked.

"Well then, let me put it this way," she plowed on. "Do you have a date to the dance yet?" She was determined to lay it out plainly. "I understand if you do, since I kinda waited until the last second…" She scratched her cheek awkwardly, eyes closed, and only realized Mercury had moved when she opened them again to find him inches away.

He was only a little taller than her, and his steel-grey eyes seemed to glitter as he looked down at her. Her breath caught, but his voice was as steady as ever. "I wasn't planning to go at all…" he drawled, and her heart sank a little. She opened her mouth to apologize, but he continued, "So I guess it's a good thing I have a suit that fits."

Yang scowled playfully at him for teasing her, and his lips worked in a genuine smile this time. A smile she was determined to wipe off his face.

"Very funny," she said. "But you should know, I always get the last laugh." She grinned competitively.

His trademark smirk returned. "Oh really–?" he started to shoot back, but was cut off when she suddenly leaned forward and kissed him.

It was brief, light, and teasing, and she started to leave as soon as she pulled away, leaving him standing there, a little stunned.

"I'll pick you up at seven," she called back over her shoulder with a Cheshire grin. "Might be a double date, might be more, but we'll have plenty of alone-time at the dance." With a final wink, she rounded the corner and headed for her locker, very pleased with herself.

* * *

**A/N**: Had a bit of trouble stringing this together, because I just started a new job on the night shift, and I was struggling somewhat to find an appropriate conclusion. Dropped everything else I was working on and did my best to grind it out for Monty's birthday, though. (Even if it's posting a day later.)  
_Keep moving forward._


	21. An Ember Gutters Out

**Note**: For a request submitted to rwbyships on Tumblr.

**Request**: Emerald Sustrai/Cinder Fall (Emberald); "Emerald's deathbed confession". (Request by Anon).

* * *

An Ember Gutters Out

**Summary**: Knowing there's no more time, Emerald struggles to tell Cinder something she has always held back.  
_Note_: Contains character death as a central element, by request.

* * *

Cinder Fall swept into the already-chaotic battle like a firestorm. A hail of gunfire converged on her immediately, but a sweep of her hand and some expertly-applied Aura left the rounds tumbling to the floor as harmlessly as the empty castings. her eyes swept the scene, at once burning brightly and icy cold. the Dust woven into her dress glowed yellow, and everywhere she looked, the flames obeyed her thoughts.

Where Mercury was backed against a stack of crates, where Emerald lay on the ground nearby surrounded by unmoving foes, where Neo danced and twirled with umbrella and stiletto in either hand, the fires flickered and died.

Where the White Fang stood in clusters around each of Cinder's allies, the scattered flames converged and roared, and _they_ died.

The White Fang broke under the new assault, scrambling away from Cinder, likely to regroup outside.

"After them," Cinder hissed, and Neo was off like a shot, impaling a straggler through the neck and severing his spine when he paused to shut the door behind him. Mercury was hot on her heels, his greaves firing in tandem with his steps to propel him forward at speed.

Emerald did not move.

Cinder paused on her way out, slightly alarmed to see the less-recalcitrant of the partners not jumping to obey…until a horrible thought struck her. What if the pool of red where the green-haired thief lay didn't come solely from the fallen White Fang…?

She was at Emerald's side in a flash, heedless of the blood as she knelt and pulled Emerald's head into her lap, brushing the crimson-stained hair out of the younger girl's face. Emerald's eyes opened at her touch.

"Cinder…" she whispered.

Her voice was so faint. Cinder didn't speak.

"it was…Adam…" Emerald croaked. "He said…the Fang…didn't need us anymore…"

Cinder remained silent, still gently stroking Emerald's hair as she struggled for breath.

"Adam is…strong…" Emerald mumbled, coughing. Flecks of red stained the white straps of her top.

"Don't you worry your head about that dead man," Cinder said in a low voice.

Emerald bared red-stained teeth in a surprisingly feral smile. "I knew…you'd say that…" she breathed. "Please… Make him pay…"

Cinder gave a solemn nod; a vow that would not be broken even if it cost Cinder her own life. Not that an animal like Adam Taurus could stand up to the Flame Empress.

"I knew…you would…" Emerald repeated. "It's something…I've always…admired." Her eyes fluttered shut, but she forced them back open. "I've always…", and Cinder had to bend closer to catch her final words. "…loved…you…"

Cinder didn't blink or hesitate; she leaned down and captured Emerald's lips for a first and final kiss. When she pulled away, Emerald's eyes were closed and her chest was still. Cinder knew her face was blank as she stood, but her eyes were blazing. With a soft snap of her fingers, every crate and wall still standing burst suddenly ablaze, turning the warehouse into an enormous pyre.

Cinder stalked out of the inferno, untouched by the flurries of dancing flames, to find Neo cleaning her blade on a corpse's shirt, and Roman grumbling about the ash staining his coat. Mercury was nowhere to be found, but Cinder had no doubt he would reappear soon, so that they could hunt their prey.

Queen's decree: The Mad Bull was henceforth marked for slaughter.

* * *

**A/N**: Kinda short. Not a lot to say except for the big thing that I'll get to. There are a few references dotted here and there, and I am 100% sure I pulled "The Mad Bull" from someone else's fic, but it was months ago and I don't remember whose or what fic (sorry).

If I may rant for a moment (and where else besides author's notes can I?), I am actually generally very anti-character death. Not because I think we (or any character, generally) lives in a world where nobody ever dies, but because once a character's thread is cut, _you can't tell any more stories with that character_. Admittedly this is less an issue in small AUs like this one (hence why I accepted the request), but my point remains: if this AU were to continue, there would be an Emerald-shaped void in it forever.  
Yes, sometimes characters have to die for the sake of a plot or a character arc, but if you find you must, please remember to _make it worth something_. Characters should never die pointlessly.  
I don't know that I had the time to really make it feel worthwhile since this is just a tiny snapshot, and I think that's where my higher-than-usual self-criticism on this piece is coming from, but hopefully the requesting anon is content. If not…sorry?


	22. Any Colour You Like

**Note**: For a request submitted to rwbyships on Tumblr.

**Request**: Yang Xiao Long/Nora Valkyrie (Pink Lemonade); something close to canon. (Request by Anon).

* * *

Any Colour You Like

**Summary**: RWBY and JNPR decide to spice up a routine mission by forming new two-person teams. Yang and Nora find that sweet and tart make a lovely combination.

* * *

"All right!" Ruby clapped her hands. Jaune jumped, startled, and nearly slid out of his seat onto the floor. Pyrrha grabbed him by the back of his armour and hauled him back into place. "Sorry…" Ruby added at Pyrrha's reproving look. "But I had a great idea to make this mission more fun! We'll trade partners!"

"That is not sound tactics," Blake observed. "Our own partners are who we're most comfortable with in a potential crisis."

"But this mission is super-easy!" Ruby argued. "No crisis involved!"

She had a point, Yang thought. This mission _was_ completely beneath them, and that was even before taking JNPR into account.

"I'm with Ruby," she said aloud. "I think it could be fun. What do you say to a nice Freezerburn combo, Weissy?"

"Nope!" Ruby chirped, before Weiss could retort. "We know all of our combinations already, so we're gonna make new ones with JNPR! Everybody will be paired with the person sitting across from them!"

RWBY and JNPR were seated in a row on either side of the plane. Everyone glanced at their assigned partner with varying degrees of enthusiasm, before Ruby began unnecessarily narrating each pair, even naming them on the spot.

"First up, we have me and Pyrrha, the fearless Team Milk and Cereal!" Pyrrha snorted inelegantly, shaking her head, but she wore an indulgent smile.

"Then, the ever-tense Team White Knight: Jaune and Weiss!" Weiss gave a heavy sigh. Jaune gulped.

"Silent and sneaky, we have Blake and Ren, Team Ninjas!" Ruby continued.

"…of Love," Yang coughed. Blake glared at her, cheeks red. Ren was carefully meeting no one's eyes.

Oblivious, Ruby plowed on. "And last, but certainly not least, the powerhouses Yang and Nora on Team Pink Lemonade!"

"More like Team Collateral Damage," Blake deadpanned, still a little flushed. Weiss smirked, and Ren even cracked a smile.

Nora, as cheerful as ever, bounded up from her seat beside her usual partner and plopped down in Yang's lap. Startled, Yang nearly shoved her off before checking the impulse. Instead, she ruffled the smaller girl's hair as she would Ruby's. Nora promptly leaned back to rest her head on Yang's shoulder.

"You're comfy," Nora informed her. "More than Ren; he's all bony."

Yang laughed. Ordinarily she might have cracked a joke—or better yet a pun-slash-entendre—but the moment was surprisingly nice, and she was reluctant to ruin it.

Predictably, Weiss complained the rest of the trip, but Yang wrapped her arms around the fidgeting Nora and relaxed until it was time to drop from the Bullhead.

* * *

They had decided, before Ruby's little stunt, that they would sweep Forever Fall in pairs so as to cover the most ground. As Yang had complained—"Incessantly," Blake noted—the mission really was one that either team could have easily handled alone. Clearing Forever Fall of Grimm would have been a mission of less than a week for even a single team of their caliber. Together, they pegged it at less than half that.

They chose a central point to reconvene after those three days; each team would spiral inward toward that point from the four points of the compass, along the way killing anything with glowing red eyes.

Nora volunteered them to jump first, having seen a thick congregation of Grimm near their Western dropzone.

Moving to the edge, yang engaged Ember Celica, crashing the gauntlets together in a characteristic gesture. "Ready to go?" she asked Nora.

The other girl gave a wide grin in return, saluting with Magnhild. "Ready to drop the hammer, partner!" She cackled as she leapt out. Roaring with laughter, Yang followed.

They had gotten a late start, and the sun was low in the sky already, but this would still count as 'Day One', so Yang was hoping to cover at least a little bit of ground after they cleared out the nests that Nora had spotted.

As the bloodred treetops closed around them, Yang lost sight of Nora. Seeing the ground approaching fast, she thrust both arms straight down, firing several times to bleed off some of her speed. Upon touching down, she bent her knees instantly and rolled with the impact, coming smoothly to her feet at a dead run in the direction she had last seen Nora.

Explosions and giggles told Yang she was on target, and she soon darted into a clearing just in time to throw a punch with all her weight and momentum behind it into the jaw of a beowolf. Its head twisted all the way around from the force of the strike, and it crumpled to the ground before fading into nothing.

The next few minutes were a blur of motion and blasts from Magnhild and Ember Celica, until at last, the final Grimm collapsed and vanished. Breathing heavily, Yang glanced around to find nora leaning on her weapon, flushed but still smiling, and bouncing in place a little as if ready to get back in line for a roller coaster.

"Need a minute?" Yang asked, inspecting her hair to make sure none of the Grimm had messed it up.

Giggling again, Nora kicked Magnhild's head to propel the hammer up to her shoulder. "Nope! But we can wait if you do," she answered cheerfully, eyes sparkling as she watched Yang check for split ends.

"Nah," Yang shrugged, brushing back her bangs. "We've got our part of this mission in the bag, I think." She checked her bearings, then began to wander in approximately the direction of their search path, keeping an eye out for Grimm.

"That's not all that'll be in the bag, since I didn't bring a bedroll," Nora chortled, keeping pace. Yang paused, glancing at her. Nora just shrugged. "I was just gonna share with Ren. I can sleep in a tree if it'll bother you too much to share, though."

"No, it's all right," Yang said faintly.

Nora's grin was blinding. "This is gonna be fun~!"

* * *

Nora was a cuddler, as it turned out. She said Ren was more than used to it; the moment she was asleep, Nora gravitated to the nearest heat source and wrapped herself around it. Yang didn't mind in principle—Ruby had been much the same way when they were younger—but sharing a sleeping bag with Nora was a little different than sharing a bed with her baby sister.

For one thing, Ruby was a good deal more slender than Nora, even if they were roughly the same height. Nora's build was closer to Yang's, though more compact: broad-shouldered and curvy, so the logistics were different. Yang was also pretty sure that, body warmth or not, she had never felt a bloodrush when Ruby snuggled up to her. She was rather grateful that they'd decided against lighting a campfire so as not to draw Grimm—even if Forever Fall was low-threat enough that they didn't need an active watch—and that she was the 'little spoon'; she'd rather not have to try to explain her reactions to Nora when she couldn't even explain them to herself.

Except…she _could_, couldn't she… Awkwardness, blushing, and she just knew that she would stammer if called upon to speak. Yang may not be as smart as Ruby, but she wasn't ignorant.

It wasn't awkward because Nora was a girl, or anything; Yang had found out years ago that a person's sex and gender had no real impact on whether she found someone attractive. But she had never had a girlfriend, and had _certainly_ never experienced these sorts of feelings with her handful of boyfriends. And she didn't know if Nora thought the same way. _And_, there was the question of Ren. Sure, Nora was quick to remind everybody that she and her partner were "not _together_-together", but what did that really mean?

Nora gave a grunting snore, and pressed herself closer to Yang. Yang's blush redoubled, and she felt the temperature in the sleeping bag rise even further as her Semblance started to react to her emotional state. Taking deep breaths, Yang made herself relax and look at the situation with her usual sharp-but-cheerful attitude.

_No matter Nora's…romantic preferences…_ The blush threatened to overtake her again. _There's no harm in enjoying the contact, right? Right._ Yang smiled into the darkness. _She's very touchy-feely anyway, so it's not like she would mind,_ she decided. She let her hand settle over Nora's, where the other girl was hugging Yang's waist, and closed her eyes, beginning to drift off at once. Yang thought she felt Nora's lips quirk in a smile against her neck, but was too tired to think it through properly. In no time at all, both girls were fast asleep.

* * *

Yang slept better that night than she ever had on a mission, and Nora was naturally an early riser, so they made a swift start the next morning.

It was surprisingly natural partnering with Nora. The tiny girl filled the same role for Team JNPR that Yang did for team RWBY, so Yang was often able to predict Nora's actions simply by thinking of exactly what she would do herself. Yang let Nora take the lead for the most part, which served the dual purpose of protecting her hair—it _always_ got messed up when she was in charge of heavy assault—and letting her surreptitiously watch her counterpart. Nora was surprisingly graceful, and—as belied by Magnhild's size—deceptively strong. Yang had caught the hammer once, when an abnormally well-armoured ursa knocked it from Nora's hands, and the moment had nearly dislocated her shoulder before she was able to spin the massive weapon around to crash against the Ursa's skullplate.

The second night and third day passed in much the same way, though Yang fancied Nora cuddled her even _more_ closely the second night.

_She probably just misses Ren,_ Yang told her fluttering stomach firmly.

* * *

As the sun began its journey downward on the planned final day, Yang and Nora reached the clearing where they were to reunite with their teammates. There was no one else there, and no sign of any Grimm, so Yang settled herself down against a tree to wait, shutting her eyes for a quick nap. They promptly popped back open, however, when Nora's head hit her lap.

She looked down into Nora's sparkling turquoise eyes, unaware of the color staining her own cheeks until Nora said, "You're really cute when I manage to fluster you." Then, before Yang could begin to articulate a response, she added, "It was easier than I thought it'd be."

"And what does that mean?" Yang asked, half-curious and half-challenging, not even bothering to deny that she _was_ flustered.

"You get reeeeally warm," Nora explained cheerfully, snuggling into Yang's lap and causing a fiercer blush. "Like, your whole body heats up and makes you even more cuddly."

"So you've been messing with me this whole mission?" Yang asked, dumbfounded.

Nora blinked. "Of course not, silly; I really like you," she said, slowly and clearly, apparently to make sure that Yang couldn't possibly misunderstand her. "And before you say anything, how many times to I have to remind people that Ren and I are not _together_-together?"

She didn't sound annoyed, despite the words; it was more like she didn't understand why she apparently had to repeat herself so frequently.

"You and Blake are partners," Nora went on. "And everybody doesn't automatically assume you two are a couple. Do you think if you and I went on a date, people would rush to tell Blake and Ren? Or would they follow us on our date?" She gasped as a thought occurred to her. "What if they were on their _own_ date? Their own super-secret Ninjas of Love date? That would be _crazy_!"

Nora blinked up at Yang.

"Are you gonna let me keep talking all day, or are you gonna kiss me already?" she asked, to all appearances genuinely curious.

Yang's mouth opened in surprise, which Nora evidently took as a cue that she should take the initiative and kiss Yang herself.

Her lips were soft, and as Yang brought a hand up to support Nora's head, Nora wrapped her own arms around Yang's neck. Before either of them could deepen the kiss, however, they were interrupted by an impressed wolf-whistle. Yang and Nora broke apart, Nora's ever-present blush perhaps a little brighter than usual, Yang about to ignite the crunchy leaves they sat upon.

"I guess you were right," said Ruby's voice. "But so was I! I told you they would beat us here!"

Pyrrha gave an amused chuckle. "I suppose you did," she agreed good-naturedly. When Yang managed to look up, the Mistrali girl seemed terribly amused, following a skipping Ruby into the clearing.

"Hiya Pyrrha, Ruby!" Nora called, waving and making no effort to get up from where she lay. "Yang is really comfy!" she explained, at Pyrrha's pointed look and raised eyebrow.

Though still embarrassed, Yang reflected that there wasn't really a _problem_. She would never hide her relationships from her sister, and Pyrrha's knowing smile indicated that she had expected this, which plainly meant she had no objections. In fact, she could all but predict the others' reactions too: Weiss would huff, Jaune would stammer, and Blake—and apparently Ren—wouldn't even blink.

Yang looked back down at Nora, whose wide grin seemed to indicate that she was thinking along the same lines. She kissed Nora again, ignoring Ruby's sudden shout at Pyrrha that the second smooch didn't mean their bet had doubled, whatever that meant, and how had she known that Yang wouldn't get grumpy about something and throw off the predictions.

Yang found herself smiling through the kiss. She had great friends, and a wonderfully sweet girl in her arms. No matter how sour her temper might sometimes get, she had a feeling it wouldn't deter Nora. Plus, as they had proved on this mission…they made one hell of a combo.

* * *

**A/N**: Yes, the title is a Pink Floyd reference.

I've mentioned before that I see Nora as pan (in both sexual and romantic senses). Nora doesn't care about sex or gender or cis-ness; people are people and love is love and that's good enough for her.  
A lot of stories paint Yang that way too, but I don't think they're quite the same. To my eye, Yang could definitely be pansexual, but I think she would lean toward girls when it comes to romance. Furthermore, though, she strikes me as someone who is familiar enough with romance to recognize the symptoms, but doesn't quite _get_ it, because she hasn't felt it before. I don't know if it's very clear here, but Yang feels very grey-romantic to me. (That is, she does feel romantic attraction, but inconsistently or under certain circumstances that she doesn't really understand.)  
Let me pause here to throw out that Greyros are a perfectly valid identity on the aromantic spectrum (which goes from 'ordinary' alloromantics like Jaune to complete aromantics like Ren), so if reading that definition made you slap your forehead and go _IT ME!_, now you have a word for it.  
(If you have more questions about aromanticism or the spectrum, please drop me an ask on my personal blog and I will do my best to explain.)

If this story overall feels a little weird, it's probably because it was written piecemeal. I'm hoping it just looks worse to me as the writer than it actually is, though. (Most things are like that, I find.)


	23. Dream Come True

**Note**: For a request submitted to rwbyships on Tumblr.

**Request**: Jaune Arc/Pyrrha Nikos (Arkos); "Jaune's confession". (Request by xxchibipandaxx )

* * *

Dream Come True

**Summary**: Pyrrha finds a cheesy poem on her pillow…but who left it there?

* * *

"Hey, uh, listen; thanks for agreeing to meet me…"

"I said sixty seconds. You're already at forty-five."

"I need you!"

"I swear, if this is another attempt to—"

"I need your _help_! An idea—"

"I should think you're quite full enough of ridiculous—"

"No! No! I already know what I want to do, but if I do it by myself it'll never work!"

"…Fine."

"Oh, gosh, thank y–"

"I'm doing this for _my_ sake. And hers, for that matter. What do you need?"

* * *

"I need a favor."

"Anything."

* * *

_I've been thinking about you lately_  
_You're so wonderful and I'm going crazy_  
_I don't deserve you, I admit._

_But no one saw the things you did it me_  
_With eyes of silver, blue, or pink._  
_(Though that last one has a hint.)_

Pyrrha blinked, staring down at the card in her hand. It was plain stationary, with no logo embossed. The handwriting was fine, narrow, slanting, and unfamiliar. She didn't have the slightest idea who might have left it here, either. Pyrrha was no stranger to fanmail, or even anonymous letters from secret admirers, but this was honestly a first.

She also felt just the slightest bit disappointed. The handwriting looked vaguely feminine, and while she was not closed-minded or…opposed to experimentation…the writing absolutely did _not_ resemble the penmanship of the person she would have _wished_ to get such a note of praises from…

Why did Jaune have to be so oblivious…?

Sighing, Pyrrha shook her head to clear the depressing thought away. One thing at a time. This girl had plucked up the courage to write and leave this note, tantamount to a confession—something Pyrrha still couldn't find the nerve to do herself, and struggled with daily. Whoever she was, she deserved an answer, rather than the message simply being ignored. Pyrrha was many things, but she was never rude.

She scrutinized the poem. It seemed almost like a riddle; at the very least, it implied a destination to be discovered, where the sender would presumably be waiting. Well, it was certainly a romantic idea.

_Eyes of pink_… The only person she knew with pink eyes was Ren. Was he in on this, somehow? Pyrrha racked her brains, trying to recall if anybody had approached her teammate lately, but nothing sprang to mind. She glanced at the clock. This time of day, Ren was usually in the Library, studying with Blake—something Ruby had taken to calling the Black Lotus Power Hour.

Could the note have been from Blake? Pyrrha wondered as she made her way outside. Blake was certainly literate enough that Pyrrha could see her writing a poem…but at the same time, she would have expected a more complex poem, rather than simple tercets and slant rhymes. The rest of her immediate friends seemed equally unlikely. Weiss would be more formal, and Yang more forward. Nora was discarded for similar reasons. Ruby might have fit, but the way the poem mentioned 'silver eyes' seemed to rule her out.

When Pyrrha reached the library, she found Ren and Blake both reading silently. Blake looked up first, a simple acknowledgement in the glance, and then returned to her book. Ren nodded companionably, setting his own book aside. Before she could say anything at all, he reached into his coat sleeve and withdrew an envelope with Pyrrha's name on it.

"Here for this, I assume?"

Pyrrha stared, not reaching for it. "Who gave it to you?"

Ren shrugged, still holding out the envelope. "It was in my pocket when I left this morning. Didn't notice it until after Combat."

Pyrrha considered his answer as she reached for the letter. She suspected he was lying, but the story was completely plausible and…well, Ren had the best poker face she had ever seen. If he wasn't telling the truth, she wouldn't find out easily.

She slit the envelope and withdrew another plain piece of stationary in that same handwriting. This note was shorter.

_I think you and I could be all right  
We could dance on the roof and light the night… _

There was no accompanying third line. The instruction was a little less subtle this time—presumably she should go to the roof? Who had seen her up there? Nobody frequented the spot except her and Jaune, that she was aware of.

Though…Jaune had mentioned that Cardin's room was near enough to have overheard their conversation, the day Jaune had admitted to faking his , Dust, what if the notes were from Winchester? It could easily be a trap. Pyrrha momentarily though of going back to the dorm for Miló and Akoúo̱. But, no, she could handle Winchester even without her weapons, and the handwriting seemed too…girly, for him. If it was a genuine confession, arriving armed would send a very strange impression. Then another thought occurred. What if the sender was Winchester, but it _wasn't_ a trap? That seemed exceedingly unlikely, but the secrecy behind the whole secret-admirer notes drawing her to a predetermined location was, from a certain point of view, intrinsically suspicious.

She hadn't yet come to a decision when she reached the door to the roof. She stood there, hesitating, for a long moment before steeling herself and turning the handle. Outside waiting was…no one at all. There was a table set for two, a vase with a bouquet of red and yellow roses, a card propped facing her. Transfixed, she crossed the roof and picked it up.

_Whenever I think of you_  
_How I wish you only knew_  
_That you seem like a dream come true_

"But where are _you_?" Pyrrha murmured.

As if in response, soft Mistrali Jazz began to play behind her. Pyrrha whirled around.

Standing sheepishly beside an old-fashioned phonograph was Jaune.

"Um, hello again," he stammered.

Pyrrha blinked at the thought of him stealing her usual line. And…what was he doing here? Her mind seemed to be playing catch-up, thoughts connecting sluggishly. Surely…No, it couldn't be that…

"I, um, I know what you're probably gonna say," Jaune hurried on, interrupting her already broken train of thought and not leaving her a moment to respond. He took a shuddering breath, and continued, "I mean, you must hear things like this all the time, but we're—we're partners and this has been driving me up the wall, so I needed to get it off my chest. I…I'm crazy about you."

Pyrrha's heart skipped a beat, and her jumbled mind went blank. "What?" she asked.

Jaune flinched. "I don't—It kinda crept up on me, y'know?" He scratched his neck, looking embarrassed, but rushed on. "I just—I got really used to you always being there for me, always having my back, and I thought about how I wished W– How I wished a girl I was crushing on would be there for me like that. But…nobody looks out for me like you do, and—and now…I don't _want_ anyone else to. I want _you_; I want to be _with_ you,. As, friends, as partners, as…I…um…" He finally ran out of words, staring at her anxiously.

When she still didn't speak, he mumbled. "I know this is probably really sudden and—and I can't say I'm…really surprised that…" he kicked at the ground, "…that you don't feel that way about me…"

Not for the first time on this roof, Pyrrha found hysterical giggles bubbling up. Jaune crumpled, and she clapped a hand to her mouth, realizing what it must sound like. "Jaune–!"

"No, I…I understand." He edged toward the door, and Pyrrha panicked.

She lunged for him, catching him utterly by surprise, and grabbed his arm, pulling with enough force to spin him back around, ending with him pressed against her. Throwing caution to the winds, she closed the last few inches between the two of them, and kissed him.

It was…Jaune-like, she supposed. A bit clumsy and definitely confused, but sweet, surprisingly strong, and very enthusiastic.

When the kiss ended, his arms were around her, too, and he didn't seem eager to let go. Not that she had a problem with that, as her pounding heart would attest.

"Wow…" he said breathlessly. "Hi."

Pyrrha smiled. "Hello again."

* * *

**A/N**: This has been 99% done for literally months, but not having a computer to type it up caused an absurd delay. My deepest apologies to the requester, xxchibipandaxx, and I hope it lived up to what you wanted.


	24. Family of Choice

**Note**: For a request submitted to rwbyships on Tumblr.

**Request**: Ruby Rose &amp; Blake Belladonna (Ladybug); "Platonic Ladybug, bored Ruby bugging Blake well(sic) she's reading (Blake finds it secretly adorable, like a little sister)". (Request by Anon)

* * *

Family of Choice

**Summary**: Blake is, as ever, trying to read. Ruby, bored, is being a bit of a pest, but Blake finds it hard to stay mad.

* * *

Ruby was getting bored.

Blake was able to put that impression down to basically intuition, tipped off by her leader's restlessly drumming fingers, weary sighs, and the fact that the two of them were sitting back-to-back, and Ruby had just flung her head back to rest on Blake's shoulder while groaning, "Soooo boooored…"

Blake did not deign to reply. It was a lazy Sunday; Yang was ensconced with a punching bag somewhere, and Weiss had disappeared, citing some important call, though she wouldn't tell them for what. If it was something that needed work done, maybe she could offer to help with the research.

They had no homework, and all was quiet on the…extracurricular front. They had been poking around, trying to find out more about the intruder Ruby had confronted during the dance last semester. But the Atlesian Military was stonewalling even Weiss, and Ruby hadn't seen her friend Penny, who she was convinced might be able to help them.

Stymied, Blake had elected to use her free time to relax and vanish into a book, this one an old favourite about a jaded smuggler and his ragtag crew that became something more like family.

Ruby flipped around to rest her chin on Blake's shoulder instead. "Blaaaake…" she whined.

"You know what always cures my boredom? _Reading a book,_" Blake said pointedly, nudging Ruby's bony chin over an inch or so, so that she was no longer jabbing a pressure point. She turned a page, equally pointedly.

Evidently unimpressed, Ruby blew a raspberry, jumping to her feet and tugging at Blake's sleeve. "Let's grab a common room with JNPR and do some karaoke!" she exclaimed.

Blake gave her a flat look. "You've got the wrong teammate for that."

Ruby pouted. From anyone else, it might have been a scowl but…Ruby just wasn't capable of that. "Weiss never sings in front of me," she complained. "It's totally unfair, because she's really, really good!"

Blake blinked as she turned another page. "Really? I hear her sing from time to time, and she doesn't stop if she notices me listening."

Ruby was pouting worse than ever, hands flailing as the story unfolded. "I _know_! She only stops if she realizes anyone else can hear. Yang and I heard her from down the hallway last week, and she quit the second I turned the doorknob. So I thought, 'Well, maybe she only sings when she's alone', but when we came in, you were in bed reading."

"Huh. What was she singing?" Blake asked, actually lowering her book, trying to remember the occasion Ruby was talking about.

"Um. That new single Pyrrha is always humming," Ruby said, face scrunching adorably as she tried to remember. "The one JNPR all danced to. 'Shine'?"

Ruby tried to whistle a few bars; she was almost certainly off-key, but Blake thought she recognized the rhythm. After a moment, her mind filled in some of the words.

"Isn't that a love song?" she said uncertainly.

Ruby shrugged. "Yang decided she was secretly serenading you, waiting for you to catch on," she giggled.

Blake threw a pillow at her, returning to her book to hide the color rising in her cheeks as she tried not to think about how much that thought appealed. _If that were true…_

She was about to lose herself in the book again, when Ruby appeared in front of her in a shower of petals and dragged the book back down to peer at Blake's face.

"You're blushing."

Fighting to keep her composure, Blake raised an eyebrow, but Ruby just grinned and poked at Blake's cheekbones.

"You can deny it all you want, but I can see it," she sing-songed.

With a huff, Blake let the book drop, fixing Ruby with a gimlet eye. Sensing danger, Ruby vanished again, and Blake's fingers closed only on scattered rose petals.

"Ruby…"

"Oh come on, Blake, let's go do _something_. I know you've read that book before; you gave it to me!" Ruby cajoled.

"I picked this out to read because of you, since we were both going to read," Blake sighed, marking her place and setting the book aside. At Ruby's puzzled look, she clarified. "I think of us like River and Simon," naming two siblings who gave up a cushy life to take care of each other.

In another storm of rose petals, Ruby had wrapped Blake in a rib-cracking hug. "I love our team," she gushed. "'Cause I have Yang, and Weiss is warming up, and you're being more open, and it's like I have three sisters now!"

* * *

**A/N**: Ladybug is just as adorable when it's totally platonic! I am all about families of choice.

(Also maybe some hinted background Monochrome because I'm 95% sure I know who requested this and they won't mind and also I just want dashingicecream -senpai to notice me because their Monochrome art is so adorable I want to live in it.)

On a separate note, I recorded a podfic for my own story _Thinking Makes It Seem…_, (part 11 of this very collection). It is only available on AO3 due to FFN's limitations, and it's pretty terrible (I definitely need more practice), but I tried.  
_*pins on a crumpled and misshapen gold star*_


	25. Reasons

**A/N**: Created 14 February 2016. It's RWBY Relationship Week again on Tumblr; the challenge is to take two randomly-selected characters and explore their relationship, whether that be romantic, platonic, parental, mentor-apprentice, sibling, antagonistic, or what-have-you.

_Sunday's Randomly-Generated Names_: Lie Ren / Ruby Rose (Lotus Petals)

* * *

Reasons

**Summary**: Ruby asks Ren for some personal training.

* * *

A burst of wind and the scent of roses and strawberries heralded, as ever, the arrival of one Ruby Rose. Her sudden appearances startled many people who were unused to her eccentricities, but then, Lie Ren had an even more hyperactive best friend.

That, and he'd been expecting this since she'd cornered him after Combat class to ask him for help with her hand-to-hand.

Apparently she'd been disarmed during the mission that had led up to the Breach, and been overpowered by a White Fang thug that should have been beneath her. Given that she was primarily a weapons-fighter and—according to the story she had told—had also been low on Aura after recently falling a good fifty feet, Ren didn't think she had anything to be ashamed of, but the fact remained that she wanted to practice.

"Before we start," Ren said, in his soft voice, "Why ask me for help, rather than your sister?"

Ruby, who had changed out of her school uniform into a pair of red shorts and a black sports bra, scratched her head awkwardly. "Yang doesn't really have a fighting style, she just hits things," she explained. "And she doesn't usually dodge so much as fight through the hits she takes. I can't battle like that."

Ren nodded. "So you thought that a more regimented martial art would better suit you," he finished for her.

"Yep!" Ruby said, popping the 'p'. She seemed very pleased that Ren had understood. "I'm used to practicing katas with my scythe, so I'm hoping I'll be able to pick it up."

She didn't say 'quickly' or 'easily', but both were implied, so… "You're going to have to work hard, Ruby. Also, I've never taught anyone before; so please know your own limits."

She nodded enthusiastically again, and Ren gave a gentle hum. "Finally, I have to ask…" Ruby cocked her head, and Ren finished quietly, "What is your _true_ reason for learning to fight?" Seeing Ruby open her mouth, he added, "Not merely this situation; I mean, as a whole. As a Huntress. Why do you fight?"

Ruby's mouth remained open as she stared at him. Then she took a deep breath, and began to tell him about her desire to help people. She told him about her discussions with her teammates and with Doctor Oobleck on their mission. She even told him, shudderingly, about her role models: her uncle Qrow Branwen and her late mother Summer Rose.

When she finished, Ren regarded her for a moment, considering what he had been told. Then…

"This is the first stance." He settled into it, smooth as breathing, and watched her mimic him. She was, at the very least, definitely a fighter; her runner's body held the position easily, and her sharp eyes watched his feet carefully, when most beginners would be more concerned with what his hands were doing.

"Good. Now, the first strike, thus."

* * *

"Ruby?" Ren asked, a little out of breath in the winter air.

"Yeah?" Ruby tilted her head curiously.

"Why are you so determined to keep up our training? It's been several months, and you're already more than proficient, if you ever find yourself disarmed again."

Ruby blushed a little. "Well, you know, got to keep practicing," she said airily. "Don't want to get rusty or anything. And um…" The blush darkened. "I mean…I kinda like spending time with you."

"I thought that might be the case," Ren observed.

"W-what?" Ruby stammered.

"Well," Ren deadpanned. "You've had me pinned for a good few minutes now, and aren't showing any signs of getting up."

Ruby's face and neck now matched her usual cloak.

"Not that I don't enjoy a girl holding me down as much as the next guy," Ren added dryly. Ruby now looked in danger of popping a blood vessel, so Ren reached up and patted her cheek gently.

She nuzzled into it a little. "You don't mind?" she asked nervously.

Ren hummed. "I've always admired you, Ruby. And you're very pretty. And I _am_, believe it or not, single." Ruby blinked in surprise, and Ren gave a tiny smirk. "Yes, seriously. I'm also…not romantically inclined." Ruby seemed to deflate, and Ren held up a finger to stop her. "I'm not opposed to entering a relationship; I just want to be up-front about this: I don't _have_ romantic feelings. Toward anyone."

Ruby seemed to consider this for a moment, then she laid her head down on his shoulder. After a while, she nodded, with her forehead pressed to his clavicle. "Can I still call you 'boyfriend'?" she asked, her voice a little muffled.

Ren ran his fingers through Ruby's short hair, which made her look up. He gave her a small, real smile. "If you like."

He pursed his lips, but didn't move, keeping his eyes on Ruby's and leaving the decision to her. After a moment's consideration, she nodded and kissed him. It was very pleasant.

They didn't get any more hand-to-hand practice in that day.

* * *

**A/N**: Sorry it's going up a couple days late. If you've kept up at all with my RWBY oneshots, you know that I read Ren as aromantic, but I also want to make clear that he's not entirely a closed-off or unfeeling person. He's very reserved—probably the most so out of the cast we've seen, besides maybe Ozpin—but he's also self-aware and definitely enjoys companionship. Strictly speaking, this relationship would probably be considered 'queerplatonic', but it would really be up to the participants to decide how they want to define themselves.


	26. Keep Moving Forward

**A/N**: Created 15 February 2016. It's RWBY Relationship Week again on Tumblr; the challenge is to take two randomly-selected characters and explore their relationship, whether that be romantic, platonic, parental, mentor-apprentice, sibling, antagonistic, or what-have-you.

_Monday's Randomly-Generated Names_: Jaune Arc / Velvet Scarlatina (Holy Grail / Playboy Bunny)

* * *

Keep Moving Forward

**Summary**: Still understandably reeling from the aftermath of the Fall of Vale, Jaune finds some unexpected comfort.

* * *

In the aftermath of the Battle of Beacon and the Fall of Vale, most students had left to be with their families—those who could find them or who had families to return to. The rest banded together in a makeshift camp on Patch Island, where the teachers of Signal Combat School allowed them to stay for a while before deciding what they wanted to do next. As the weeks went by, students trickled away a few at a time—either to join other Academies or to work directly with other Hunters in the attempt to stabilize the region and stop the panic of Vale's Fall from spreading to the other Kingdoms—and soon there were only a few teams remaining.

Team CRDL, the latter three of whom had nowhere to go and were sticking with their leader, who had declined to retreat to his family's manor; Team CFVY, who were determined to help the civilians evacuated from Vale; and the remainder of Team JNPR, who…were still in recovery, as it were.

Ren and Nora had recuperated well with some bedrest, while Jaune…

Jaune was waiting for Ruby, who was still comatose. Ren had raised the possibility that she might remain so, but Jaune was certain—certain in the same way he had _known_ the instant Pyrrha had died—that Ruby would be okay.

Ruby was the only one who had been there on the tower with Pyrrha when it happened. Her Uncle Qrow had come by to offer his condolences for their loss, and to explain that the subsequent flare of power which had frozen the giant Grimm had come from Ruby, but he was not forthcoming about whatever the hell it actually _was_, so Jaune was determined to hear it from Ruby's mouth.

Tensions in the camp were, understandably, rather high. So, when a distracted Cardin knocked shoulders with an equally-distracted Velvet one particularly hot day, it was not particularly surprising that his temper flared.

"Watch where you're going, you damn freak," he growled, staggering to a halt.

Before Velvet could apologize, though, Jaune cut in. "Back off, Cardin."

Both of them turned to look at Jaune, stomping over to them with an uncharacteristically angry look on his face.

Cardin sneered. "You just gonna play white knight all the time now, Jauney boy? This because you couldn't save your girlfr–"

His words cut off as Jaune's fist collided with his jaw. "There's no teachers here to give me detention and no Beacon you can blackmail me with getting kicked out of anymore, Cardin," Jaune snarled. "So by all means, _continue to piss me off._"

Cardin steadied himself again, barely managing to stay upright, and took in Jaune's seething posture.

"I've had it with you, Winchester," Jaune said flatly. "Look at where we are. You think this is the time to indulge your racist bullshit? Your grades were barely above mine, and I've never been to Combat school. How much good were you in Forever Fall?" He was advancing now, prodding at Cardin's chestplate. "Where were you during the Breach? How long did it take you to get involved in the Battle of Beacon? Because Velvet was right there with us at Ground Zero both times, more than holding her own!" With an effort, it seemed, Jaune reined himself in. He turned on his heel and walked away again. "Take a good look at yourself sometime, Cardin. I can't believe you like what you see."

* * *

Still making every attempt to restrain his temper, Jaune found himself stamping through the woods toward the seaside cliffs. There were parts of Patch that lay nearly at sea level, but nearest the camp, it was easily a sheer fifty-foot drop, and Jaune had found himself sitting on a boulder there on more than one occasion of late, when he needed a break from Nora's rambling and worrying about Ruby and mourning Pyrrha…

His blood boiled again at the callous way Cardin had brought her up, and he slumped down on his usual stone seat, watching the waves crash against the rocks below.

Jaune didn't know how long he sat there, staring moodily at the ocean, before he heard a small _click_. Before he could look around, though, he felt a body press against his back, and a chin rest on the top of his head. It was definitely a woman, from the shape, and a glance at the shadow stretching toward the cliff face in front of him showed two tall ears and told him who it was.

"Velvet?"

She didn't move, just continued leaning on his shoulders and resting her chin on his head, but she wasn't uncomfortable, so he went back to staring out to sea. After an unmeasurable pause, she said softly,"I really can't imagine it."

Jaune said nothing.

"I can't even bring myself to picture losing Yatsu, and we've never been…well."

Jaune sighed. "We never had much chance, anyway."

After a moment, Velvet said, in a quieter voice still, "I imagine you're probably not ready to hear it, but—"

"She would want me to keep moving forward," Jaune finished for her. He sighed, and let some of his weight lean against Velvet in turn, recognizing that she was trying to lend support. "Knowing it isn't the same as being able to do it, since I'm kinda stuck here waiting, but…I know."

They both watched the horizon for a while longer, just taking comfort in each other's presence.

* * *

**A/N**: I guess having Cardin as an antagonist is kinda cliche where these two are concerned, but to hell with it, I'm already behind.

Rabbits rest their chins on each other's heads as a show of (essentially) dominance, though since rabbits are always pretty timid creatures, it's usually less 'dominance' and more 'I'm being the strong one right now'. I personally like the idea of Faunus characters showing slight behavioral quirks, but I try to be careful not to phrase it as a 'beast within' or any kind of a racial thing.


	27. Autolycus

**A/N**: Created 16 February 2016. It's RWBY Relationship Week again on Tumblr; the challenge is to take two randomly-selected characters and explore their relationship, whether that be romantic, platonic, parental, mentor-apprentice, sibling, antagonistic, or what-have-you.

_Tuesday's Randomly-Generated Names_: Roman Torchwick / Mercury Black (Torchury / Petasos)

* * *

Autolycus

**Summary**: Mercury drops by to ask why Roman's next theft is taking so long.

* * *

"You're behind schedule, old man," Mercury called as he strolled into the warehouse where Roman Torchwick was holed up, along with the several tonnes of Dust he had by now 'procured'. "Our plan is kind of nearing crunch time, so we're not exactly in the mood for your usual excuses."

Roman glanced up, evidently dismissing most of Mercury's threat. "Oh, Mommy just sent you as the messenger this time? Where's your sister?"

Of course, the endless joke of him and Emerald as Cinder's kids. Hilarious as always.

"Like I care," he answered. "And neither should you. What you _should_ care about is what you _know_ will happen if you keep falling behind schedule like this."

Roman rolled his eyes. "This job isn't quite as easy as blowing out the brains of drunk old men or cowardly Faunus runaways," he shot back. "Especially since I have to draw all the attention in the world, which means I have to stick around to be seen, and leave calling cards, which in turn calls for more elaborate planning. And every time I succeed—which I'll point out has been _every time_—it gets more difficult."

Mercury snorted. "You're just a thief. I hope you're not wasting too much time trying to _think_."

"This, coming from the snot-nosed patricidal psychopath?" Roman scoffed. "Forgive me if _your_ thought processes don't exactly inspire confidence."

"Pfft. Whatever. You want me," Mercury said, falling back on how he interacted with the other thief in his life as he opened the door to leave.

Roman's cane moved into view over his shoulder, pushing the door shut before Mercury could leave. "And if I do?"

Mercury blinked at the closed door. "What?"

The end of the cane retracted, before the crook settled on his shoulder and pulled him around. Roman was less than an arm's-length away, and getting closer. "I'm a thief, dear boy, as you have so eloquently pointed out." He could feel Roman's breath on his face. "As a rule, when I see something I want, _I take it_."

Mercury leaned back against the door. "What about your little ice cream sundae?"

Roman's lips quirked, and Mercury found himself watching them much too closely. "She's busy today. But either way, we happen to agree that ice cream is just _one_ of the things that's sweeter when you share. Now then," he placed his hands on either side of Mercury's head. "Have you got any more stupid questions or smart remarks?"

Mercury licked his lips, rather out of his element. Roman noticed. "I guess not," he smirked. And he closed the distance.

* * *

**A/N**: I've never cared for portmanteau ship names in our FNDM, so I'm wondering if I can replace 'Torchury' with, say, 'Petasos' (which is the god Mercury's broad-brimmed style of hat).

'Autolycus' is the name of a great mythological thief, who was either a worshipper of or the son of Hermes (the Greek equivalent of Mercury), who gained his skills from making sacrifices to the fleetness of his patron god. He was also supposedly the grandfather of both Odysseus and Jason (through different wives).

I'm sorry if this isn't very good. I feel like these two would really need a lot more time than I can give them in a short fic, to really snark back and forth and grind each other's gears. Maybe another time.


	28. Lost

**A/N**: Created 17 February 2016. It's RWBY Relationship Week again on Tumblr; the challenge is to take two randomly-selected characters and explore their relationship, whether that be romantic, platonic, parental, mentor-apprentice, sibling, antagonistic, or what-have-you.

_Wednesday's Randomly-Generated Names_: Yang Xiao Long / Neopolitan (Baked Alaska)

* * *

Lost

**Summary**: Yang is alone in the house, with her thoughts. Until she isn't.

* * *

Yang heard the door close behind Ruby. She'd pretended to be asleep when Ruby looked in; had barely spoken to her little sister in months, despite Ruby checking on her every day, knowing it hurt her and not being able to stop. She watched the red cloak fade into the distance, alongside the remainder of JNPR. Soon, all she could make out was Ruby's hood, Jaune's hair, Ren's coat, and Nora's skirt. Then, nothing.

The light was off, like it usually was, so that Yang could close the curtain and not have to focus on the sight of where her right arm just…ended. Truncated. Like her ability to fight, and with it her resolve. Like her hold on her so-called partner. Like Pyrrha's whole life.

She heard Dad calling up the stairs for Ruby, but didn't bother telling him that she was gone. He'd find out soon.

Sure enough, he walked by a moment later on the way to her room, then bolted back past, presumably upon finding the note that Ruby most likely left. It didn't look like he'd even glanced at Yang to check if _she_ was still there.

Yang clenched her remaining fingers in the blankets as more useless tears rose, and felt phantom pains shoot through the hand that wasn't there as the sheets on her right side failed to contract.

Wasn't she stronger than this? Strong enough to keep going; strong enough to hold her team together?

Staring at her single hand, and the tied-off bandage marking the stump of the other arm, bitterness spiralled out of control again. Without an arm, how could she hold anything? Half of Ember Celica was gone. Her primary attacking and defending limb, both missing. Her balance was shot, especially for fighting or landing or the myriad other things a Huntress was required to do.

She couldn't hold so much as a pencil anymore. She couldn't prevent Weiss from being taken away. She couldn't keep Ruby from going on her self-appointed quest. She couldn't stop Blake from running. Hell, even with two hands, she couldn't stop her mother from leaving.

So what was the point in trying at all?

Yang's gaze meandered around the room, as she'd done so often in the past months, memorizing each tiny detail, before she paused on the corner opposite her bed. Her brain seemed to be moving slowly, and she certainly couldn't muster the effort to get up and check more closely, but something about the way the shadows fell in that corner seemed…off.

She just stared at it, not really focusing on the problem—not even really convinced it wasn't just in her own head—but after a moment, she saw a slight shimmer. Huh. She'd been right. She couldn't muster the energy to be worried or excited about an unexplained phenomenon though, or the motivation to react in the slightest when the shimmer came again, then shattered like glass to reveal the tiny, tri-colored woman who'd worked for Torchwick.

Yang closed her eyes as Neo's heels clicked slowly across the floor. She'd wondered if somebody would come try to finish the job. At least she figured Neo would make it quick; she'd had no hesitation in preparing a killing blow last time, and would have succeeded if not for…

But that rescue wasn't coming again. And Yang supposed she had just been living on borrowed time since the first one.

Neo's umbrella concealed a stiletto dagger; since Yang was sitting still, she could probably expect the stab to come in the eye or the throat, or maybe straight through the heart.

After several minutes' silence, Yang opened her eyes again. Neo stood beside the bed, empty-handed and arms folded as she stared critically down at Yang. Her parasol was propped in the corner in which she'd appeared.

"What?" Yang croaked, not having spoken aloud to anyone in days.

Neo tilted her head, then furrowed her brow and made several gestures with her hands. Yang stared at her blankly, and Neo tapped her foot irritably before repeating the gestures.

"I don't know your signs," Yang said tonelessly. "Don't know what you're asking."

Neo gestured as though raising a hood and swinging a scythe, then put a hand to her brow and peered around as if looking for someone.

"Ruby's not here," Yang said flatly. "She left to go keep fighting."

Neo repeated the scythe gesture, then raked a hand over her forehead as though slicking back her hair.

"Qrow? I don't know. He's probably following her."

Neo's eyes raked over Yang, lying in bed. She raised an eyebrow.

"No, I'm not going."

The eyebrow rose higher. Then Neo tossed her hair behind her, drew a finger across her left eye, and mimed raising a sword, followed by her '_Where?_' gesture again.

"Weiss went back home to Atlas."

Now Neo raised her hands to her head and tilted them this way and that, like…cat's ears.

"I don't know where Blake went," Yang said, trying to keep the tears out of her eyes and her voice.

But Neo was too sharp. She leaned closer and gestured at Yang laying in bed again.

Yang shut her eyes and turned away. "No, I'm not getting up. I've got nothing to contribute anymore."

The impatient tapping of Neo's foot eventually drew her attention back, and she found the small girl standing with her hands on her hips. She gestured at Yang again, and then spread her arms, as if to ask '_Why?_'

"Why do you think?" Yang snarled, raising her stump. "You think I can fight like this?"

This time, rather than mime, Neo just mouthed a single word: '_Practice_'.

Yang's shoulders slumped, and she stared at her bedspread. "Why bother. Beacon's lost. Vale's lost. _We've_ lost. Shouldn't you be celebrating?"

Neo's foot began tapping again. This time, when Yang looked up, Neo slapped her.

"I don't c-"

Neo slapped her again, and Yang felt the her temperature start to rise as her Semblance activated in response to her being struck.

"I. Don't. Care." She gritted out.

Neo made a sharp gesture as if to say, '_So there_'.

Yang blinked. She'd been expecting another slap, not… "You're saying you don't care?" she asked slowly.

Neo folded her arms again and nodded.

"Then why are you even here?"

The charades went a little longer this time. First a hand swept across her face, then a gesture like putting on a hat, and a motion like leaning on a cane. Then she paused, glancing up at Yang.

"Torchwick?"

Neo nodded. Then she flapped her arms and snapped her head forward with a biting motion.

"…got eaten?" Had Ruby mentioned something about that? "he's dead?"

Neo rolled her eyes up and let her head loll, plainly miming '_dead_'.

"So what?" Yang asked. "Not like that was our fault. We didn't release the Grimm into the city."

Neo nodded harshly, her eyes narrowed.

"I don't understand," Yang said after a moment. "If you didn't come here to kill me…" Neo pointed at her parasol over in the corner, then displayed her empty palms. "Then what the hell do you want?"

Neo pointed at Yang, then the floor beside her.

"_Why?_"

Neo withdrew her Scroll and waggled it, then held in front her mouth, miming speaking as she tossed her hair. Then she paused, looking at the Scroll in her hands. She scowled, and snapped it in half, tossing it in the trash can.

"The woman from the broadcast? She gave you that?"

Neo glared, apparently aggravated that Yang had followed the wrong train of thought. She gestured with her hands across her chest just below the shoulders, then across at an angle just below her hips. Then she walked a few exaggeratedly mincing steps, looked at Yang over her shoulder, and opened her hands over her eyes.

And then drew a thumb across her neck.

"That woman…she's the one who caused this?"

A firm nod.

"And you want to kill her."

Another nod.

"For Torchwick?"

Yet another nod.

"But why me?"

Again the series of charades stopped, and Neo simply mouthed the words. '_Because you understand_'.

"Understand what?" Yang said defensively.

Neo raised a skeptical eyebrow. She gestured around the bare room, up at the shut-off light, then at the door leading to the rest of the empty house. She pointed out the window at the road that Ruby had taken. She pointed at Yang's missing arm.

"What am I supposed to understand?" Yang repeated, feeling her temper coming back.

Glaring again, Neo opened her mouth wide, so that even in the oblique light, Yang could plainly see the missing tongue, and the scarring running down the back of her throat. When she felt she'd made her point, she closed her mouth again, and her lips formed the word, '_loss_'.

Yang scowled. "Then _you_ understand," she hissed. "Why I've just been laying here. You think I don't _want_ to care? I can't help that I'm fucking broken and can't do anth–"

Neo slapped her again, and Yang felt her eyes turn. Her left arm shot out and seized Neo's collar, dragging the girl down to her level. Neo was smirking broadly, apparently at finally getting a reaction out of Yang. '_You care_', she mouthed.

Yang just held her there, an inch away, breathing hard and trying to control her rage.

And then Neo leaned forward and kissed her.

It was so sudden that Yang didn't even think to react, and her Semblance died down in shock. She saw Neo's eyes narrow, though the girl didn't pull away. Instead, she forcibly deepened the kiss, biting down hard on Yang's bottom lip, and the heat started pouring of Yang in waves. She wasn't sure herself if or when she started kissing back, but by the time Neo broke away and straightened up, both of their lips were swollen and bleeding.

She yanked the blankets off Yang's legs and took a step back, bowing grandly.

Yang glared even as she swung her legs out of bed for something other than a trip to the bathroom for the first time in months. "I still hate you."

Neo grinned, licking her bitten lip, then jerked her head toward the parasol in the corner.

Yang ignored her, crossing to her desk. She got out a piece of paper, and fumbled with a pen for a few moments before a small, gloved hand snatched it out of her own and pushed her aside. Neo held the pen over the paper and paused, looking up at her, eyes switching colors when she blinked.

Yang took a breath, then dictated: "'Dad. I'm sorry for the last few months. Ruby was right. We have to do _something_. I'm not quitting. Yang.'"

Neo scribbled rapidly, but stopped before the final word and offered the pen back to Yang to sign her own name. Taking another deep breath, she took it and scrawled out the four letters as best she could with her left hand.

When she finished and looked up, Neo had strolled back over to the corner where her umbrella stood. She picked it up and half-turned, extending a hand back to Yang.

Yang picked up the yellow wristlet lying beside the note on the desk, and after a moment's fumbling, managed to get her hand through it. She twisted her wrist in a motion as familiar to her as breathing, and her remaining Ember Celica deployed around her hand. She clenched her fist, and was surprised to find it steady.

She took Neo's hand, and heard a sound like shattering glass.

* * *

**A/N**: This one got heavy. Still, in a couple places, I want to point out that this is entirely Yang's POV, and Yang is…not in the best place mentally right now. She's failing to notice some things the way she normally would, and is drawing conclusions based on her own despair rather than rationality. (For instance, she's under the impression that Tai didn't even bother to look and see if she was still there, when in fact he made sure of that first even as he sprinted by.)

Personally, I've never really been into Baked Alaska, because they just didn't seem to have any common ground that you could point to in canon. For me, a ship needs more than just foe yay to get off the ground (or, 'out to sea, I guess), and all the interaction we had between Yang and Neo was them fighting without any communication. This is the first time that I've thought they might actually (canonically) have a leg to stand on.


End file.
